Altering Rhythm
by Plata-Azul Firebird
Summary: Two young women, best friends, looking forward on achieving their dreams… only, on the night of their graduation celebration, a calamity hits their way and unbelievably fell into the world of Final Fantasy 7.
1. Opening Act

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird does not own Final Fantasy 7, only her OCs… Otherwise, we might end up having a not-so-epic battle with the lawsuits.)

_**Altering Rhythm**_

_**Opening Act**_

Silver: Once more, an old idea revive after reading those self-insertion fics… only this is not a self-insertion, more of a gamer drop into the game world. Here's the summary:

_Summary: Two young women, best friends, looking forward to achieving their dreams… on the night of their graduation celebration, a calamity hits their way and unbelievably fell into the world of Final Fantasy 7. _

_Will they able to make a better ending for the gang? Or make things worse with their presences…? _

Silver: A bit of note here, Cloud and a few characters will be a little off, but I'll try keeping them in line. The two girls were based on the avatars me and my friend made in an online game. And now… let's open the new act for FF7! Rise the curtains!

DATE: Aug 5 2014 (REVISED)

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><p><strong>Opening Act<strong>

Lights on the stage, men and women in formal suits and in togas except one who is a nun, sitting on chairs near back. After the speech, two of them stands up and walks forward, as the graduating students stands and marches to the stage. Each one receiving a diploma and shaking their hands, with their mind whooping with joy and a bit of sadness that college is over.

After the last speech from the president of the college itself, the graduates takes their cap and toss it up. Celebrating their invocation and their achievement for receiving their degree, some runs around hugging fellow graduates and others made weepy but memorable farewells to their friends.

"Finally!" two young women yelled in the garden of the college ground and hugs each other. One is a ravenette, long straight hair tied in a bun, and the other is a medium brunette in pigtails. Both are wearing their uniforms and their togas, and they don't have a care in the world if some people stares at them weirdly.

After all, they have endured 4 years of college education.

"So… Now we're adults, shall we email our application to Pixie? Or SE?" the brunette asked.

"Whoa there, first we need work experience." the ravenette stated, putting her finger on her heads forehead to calm the hyper girl down. "I mean, have you seen the requirements in the internet?"

"Aye, don't remind me…" the brunette groan and slumps.

"Mira! Riley!" the two turns to see their friends and band mates as they approaches them. "Dude! We're going to miss you!" one of them gives the ravenette a headlock and messes with her hair. Mira muffled shrieks as she pounds on her friend's muscle-bound arm, and Riley laughs beside her.

"Oi! Let her go, she's not that strong to get away from your strength, Greg." Riley stated as she taps his arms. "Not to mention the armpit smell… Ew…."

"Ha, ha, ha… sorry, you know, if you were not game otakus, I would have Mira as my college sweetheart." Greg said, letting the ravenette go and places his hands on the back of his neck.

As Mira rubs her head and neck, she then looks at him as she snorts out the smell. "Then I would have nightmares of sweat smelling of pigs and serving you meals during a boxing game event." she stated flatly.

"Aye, too true man." her best friend said with a glee as Greg seems to deflate.

"So, where are you girls heading?" the guitarist, Lucy, asked.

"We're getting out haircut." they both stated.

"EH?" the band all stated in shock.

"But you- just-" Lucy stuttered and the brunette holds up her hand.

"Where not making it short… well maybe except I'll make mine shorter though." the brunette stated as she pats on her hair. Then all of the sudden, the sky turns gray and it wouldn't be long till it begins to pour. "Man, can't it be sunny for this day? I mean, it's our graduation for Pete's sake!"

"Well… we better get going if we are going to get that haircut." Mira stated, looking at Riley who nodded back. The two bid goodbye to their friends and heads to the mall, to waste their graduation money each of their family gave to them.

**:::^*^:::**

"DIE!" Riley yelled as she repeatedly hit the button to win the game.

After getting their new haircut, Mira got a layered hair cut, tying her long hair on a low ponytail which makes her hair look more like a cropped bob. Riley got a pixie cut with some caramel highlights. The two girls then bought some items such as new phones, PS Vitas, some games for their Xbox 360 and a few new outfits. On arriving back at their dorm, they immediately uploaded some files, games, music and movies into their new hand-held gadgets.

After that, Riley is playing Dead Space 2 and is rather low in health while her best friends looks into their closet.

"Riley! We should pack now, since we are actually moving to the new flat we got soon." the ravenette stated, as she pulls out a box with books above it from the closet. Before graduation, both girls have to find a new place since the college days are over and the dorm will be given to some new students coming in the next semester. Thankfully, with their parents' help, they found a decent flat with three bedrooms, a kitchen and dining room, restroom and living room. Their parents' paid the flat's first few months till both girls save enough money to pay for their own.

"Hold on! I'm going to- well, crap, I'm dead." the brunette stated and pouts at the scene of her character's horrific death. She then looks at Mira with a flat look, as her roommate shrugs before they both jump at the sound to thunder. "Meh, the weather in this country is worse."

"That's because we're near the equator and the Pacific Ocean." her friend replies.

"D'oh- GAH!" Riley yelled when it flashes and booms at the same time, it's a miracle that the lights didn't go off. "Okay...! That scared the heck outta meh..."

"Aye."

"And Mira, drop the box and prepare the things we need for blackout."

"Good idea."

Taking in the suggestion, she stops packing and they go looking for flashlights and reserved items. Once they are prepared for the blackout, Riley then takes out her new PS Vita from her bag and with glee she turns it on. She then selects Final Fantasy 7 she just uploaded, along with her saves, and loads the last save which is around the side quest of beating the two WEAPONs: Ruby and Emerald. Once she finishes with the two and giving the items to the old man, she then proceeds on getting the Knight of Rounds materia before heading for the final battles.

As she plays, Mira made a quick dinner, reheated lasagna, and grab a pair of soda can from the mini fridge. She then puts them on the table which is by the bed, where Riley is once more in her gamer's rage till…

"Aw man... he just handed my ass." she whined.

"Who handed your ass?" as she sits beside the brunette on their bunk beds.

"Sexyroth..."and that made her stare at the brunette as if she has lost it like she lost the game.

"Excuse me...?"

"Sorry, I mean Sephiroth... Geez, he is just a lost guy, Mira. Too many people are lying around, the lost of his friends and the fact that he finds out that his mom is an alien, which is NOT! Can't he ever take a break and see the real truth?"

"I pity on him too. But he is now a danger to the planet and on everyone."

"Danger my ass, he's just a guy who can't reach out to people because they expect him to be something... perfect." the brunette said the last word with disgust as she picks her soda.

"True... if he could only find out that Lucrecia is his mother, then he will just take his anger to Shinra instead of the entire planet. Not to mention, he'll totally massacre Hojo on what he did to him and his mom."

"Aye... help me beat the game?" she asked her ravenette friend and give her the best puppy-look. Mira giggles at her and agrees on helping, she momentarily takes a bite from their meal as she takes the PS Vita. As she checks on her equipment and materia, Riley downs her soda as she watches. Once she rearranges everything, she then proceeds with the final battle and beats down Jenova with no problem…

But on the battle with Bizzaro Sephiroth...

"Hey, did you feel that?" Riley asked, snapping her friend out of concentration of the game. "There it is again."

"The building is sha- Wha!" Mira yelps as she and her friend falls off the bed. "Earthquake! Get down!" The two girls immediately take cover under the bed, as the lights suddenly flicker before going out, things falling out the shelves then…

The next thing they knew, everything collapses and blackout.

**:::^*^:::**

_"Welcome back."_

**:::^*^:::**

Groaning, Mira gets up and shakes her head. "Ow… crap…" she stated and turns to see Riley on the ground with a different outfit. 'Wha?' she thought as she notices the red tube top, red and black biker gloves, black mini-skirt with a gray legging beneath, a red pouch strapped on her thigh, knee high riding boots and a matching black leather jacket with gold buttons and a grey hoodie beneath it. She even takes note of a dagger strapped on her left leg and a red scarf on her neck. 'When did she change outfit?' she thought and is about to shake her awake when she notice her arm, then her outfit. "And since when did I change mine?" she asked out loud and baffled.

She is wearing a sleeveless white polo, a black tuxedo vest with a long tail behind, faded blue jeans, a belt with a bunch of pouches, knee high boot with a zipper and plenty of straps on, a pair white sleeves and a pair of black gloves with a bangle each. "Despite the situation, this outfit is not-half bad… still I look like I'm-" but she is cut off when she feels something on her head and her shoulder, and turns to find three additional things with her.

First, it's a wireless headset and their design looks like one of those shoujo mangas. Next is a choker on her neck, judging by touching, it is leather with a crystal flower on the tag. And lastly, she looks on her right side to see, a black and white keytar just strapped on her. She just stares at the instrument for a moment before she hears her friend groan, and turns to see Riley getting up.

"Ugh… I'm never going to have beans before dinner ever." the brunet stated flatly.

"Oi, don't tell me that you'll need a toilet." she replied in a deadpan tone.

"Nope, it haven't reach rock bottom yet but by the flip-flopping of my stomach, be prepared for the impending bomb… Where are we anyway?" then looks at her outfit. "And why am I wearing a Jill Valentine?" clearly displease on the tube top but is thankful for the two jackets she have on.

"No idea, I just woke up and we have these on." as she lifts the keytar and the brunette zips up her hoodie.

"Aye, don't tell me that-" she is cut off when the sky darkens and rumbles are heard. "Don't tell me it's gonna rain again, I have enough storms to pop my heart out."

"Let's just find some shelter and stay till the rain is over."

Nodding at this, both women gets up and to their luck, they find a ledge to go under and wait for the rain to go.

"… Do you think we're in the Nevada Desert?" Riley asked, as she looks at the dry land which is being drench by the rain.

"I don't know, we could be in the Middle east or in Australia." Mira replied, as she watches the rain fall.

"Mira, the sands in the land-down-under is red." the brunette points out

The ravenette shrugs as the rain continues to pour and then…

The two flinches when they heard a loud scream from the distance, they look at each other before they get up and heads out to see what is going on...

Only to stop on seeing... a familiar gray circular structure with lumps jutting out in some places, with a tall structure in the middle.

"Is it me or why do I suddenly see Midgar in the distance?" Riley asked out loud and they both stare at each other. "Are we dreaming?"

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><p>Silver: Can you guess situation now? Read and Review.<p> 


	2. Wandering Note

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird does not own Final Fantasy 7, only her OCs… Otherwise, we might end up having a not-so-epic battle with the lawsuits.)

_**Altering Rhythm**_

_**Wandering Note**_

Silver: And now for the action and their job class.

DATE: Aug 5 2014 (REVISED)

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><p><strong>Wandering Note<strong>

Two young women looks at each other for a moment before they both pulls each others faces.

"OW!" the both yelp, they quickly let go and rub their sore cheeks.

"Okay... We're not dreaming." Mira whine a bit, rubbing the sting off her cheeks.

"Aye." Riley replied, looking at the grey structure at the distance and the rain is still going. "I can't believe..."

"I still can't believe it." as she rubs her temple and place a hand on her waist, before looking at Riley. "Are we in a practical joke show?"

"I have no idea... but we have a way to find out, starting with this rock!"

"What does the rock have to do with it?"

"In typical candid camera shows, most of the stuffs are props." the brunette points it out as she walks to the stone wall of the ledge they took shelter in. "Which means, despite they are made to be accurately real, they are hollow or made out of Styrofoam." With that, she gives the stone wall a good kick with the heels of her foot. To their surprise, the stone neither budge nor is torn a hole in it.

The rock is completely solid with a few crumbling mineral falling to the ground.

"... The rock is real." the brunette stated out, as her best friend just stared at the rock and silently agreed. But when the pieces falls into place, something clicks in the brunette's mind. "Wait, if the rock is real and that's Midgar from Final Fantasy 7, then the scream we heard earlier..." and it quickly clicks into both in their mind of the situation they landed in.

"CLOUD AND ZACK!" the two exclaim and on cue, a pair of Devil Ride appears and it sneers at them. "Oh snap!" they yelp in unison and not liking the looks on them, they turns heels and run like a bat out of hell. But they couldn't run far since their pursuers are on wheels and the monsters quickly rounded them up like a pair of sheep which strayed from the herd. The two went back to back as Riley takes out her dagger on her leg.

"Back! I got a friggin' fighting knife and I'm not afraid to poke it on you!" the brunette threatens the wheeled creatures but the sound of the bike's engine suddenly roars. "Crap! Move!"

The two quickly moves to different directions as the thing attacks them with Drift Turn. She rolls away as Mira fell flat on her front, she swore as the same monster tries to hit her with a Wheelie. Groaning and mentally swearing she should've taken gym more seriously, Mira gets up on her hands and knees in time to see the other monster is about to make a road kill out of her. Quickly getting out of the way and scrambling up, she turns to face her attacker with a keytar as a makeshift club or a shield.

Meanwhile...

"For a bunch of mutated biker rejects, you guys are really annoying." Riley quips as she avoids another charge from the monster and turns to face it again. Then it charges again and this time, she manages to hit the arm of the creature. "YES!" she whoops but she didn't expect it to strike back with a Drift Turn and is hit by the side. She fell and groaned in pain as her mind replays how the move, Drift Turn, goes. Getting up, she quickly rolls away from being flatten by a Wheelie and rise her knife in defense.

Once more the creature charges again, then a certain idea came to her mind. Mentally thanking that she's a gamer, she quickly aims for the head and throws the knife to it's face. It manages to hit it but is stuck on the helmet, leaving her weaponless. "Okay... the Leon-Kennedy-knife-throw is a bad idea." she utters as she rolls out of the way.

"Riley! Help me!" Her best friend shouts as she seems to use the keytar more of a shield than a club and avoids most attacks. On the looks of it, she's getting really tired and there are times the keytar almost slip out of her hands.

"Just hold on!" the brunette shouts and avoids another charge. 'Come on, think!' she mentally swore as she notices Mira barely avoided the Drift Turn. And then, suddenly, something clicks in her. As her own foe charges at her, she imagine herself sitting on a motorcycle and doing the Drift Turn back at the fiend.

The next thing is she heard a thud and saw the Devil Ride fell on it's side, with Mira staring at her in surprise and shock. "What...?" she asked, looking confuse on why her best friend look at her like that.

"Did you just do a Drift Turn on your own?" the ravenette asked, as she avoids the Wheelie from her foe.

The brunette stares at her for a moment before looking at the fact that she is sitting on a very transparent motorcycle, similar to the monsters, before vanishing. Her mouth drops open as she manages to catch her balance, as she looks at her hands and then at the monster which she knock out. "What the heck was that?"

Meanwhile, Mira just yelp on getting hit and fell roughly on her back. She manages to scramble out of the way, despite the additional weight and wondering why she is stilling lugging it around, as the fiend charges at her. On getting up, she winces on her newly acquired bruises on her sides and arms as she haul the instrument off the ground. Again she wonder why she got a musical instrument instead of a weapon like Riley does, at lease she got a dagger. Once more the monsters charges again at her, too hurt to move she just grips tightly on the instrument and presses the keys making noise.

And suddenly, a sudden pulse came out and knock the wheeled creature back. She just stared and wonders what happen, as the fiend gets up and it's engine roars in annoyance. Charging at her again, Riley who just snapped back from her shock and attempts to save her friend. Only to find it is not needed as she once more presses the keys out of fear and a shockwave hits the monster squarely.

"Whoa!" the brunette yelped as the monster falls knockout and rushes to her best friend's side. "You okay there, spoony bard?" she asked.

"Spoony bard?" her friend asked and looks at her.

"Hey if I didn't know better, you've just attacked the Devil Ride with a sound wave from your new gig." pointing it out and the ravenette just stares at her instrument. Then the rain stops and slowly the sun is peeking out, realizing how much time pass. "Shit! We got to go if we're going to save Cloud and Zack!"

Quickly looting the goods and Riley retrieving her dagger, the two quickly hikes to where the said heroes are.

**:::^*^:::**

As they head to the cliff, they began wondering about the stuffs that happened today. Mira just looked at her friend who accepted the whole situation seriously, while her mind is still on debate.

"I did a Drift Turn of my own…" Riley stated as she and Mira continues walking and remembering the exact attack she did on the Devil Ride.

"You copied the move." her friend points out. "But that's really impossible... unless you have Bartz's ability from Dissidia."

"Then my Job Class is a Mime... Cool!" Then she looks at her friend, who just stare back at her with a surprise look on her face. "And you're a Songstress like Yuna and Lenne."

"I doubt I have bluffing or ailment inflicting abilities like in FFX-2... Ow..." the ravenette is still in pain after that fight.

"You okay?" and only to receive a glare from her best friend. "Come on, I got this." she takes out a long tube, which looks like a huge pill with two metal ends, and they recognize the design since they played Crisis Core.

"That's a Shinra Potion, where did you get that?"

"The monsters." and Mira stares at her. "Hey I just drank one and it's really effective, it will make you better. Plus it tastes like those potions "AKA sodas" your sister bought from Japan."

Although doubting, she takes the potion and downs it. Immediately, she feels a cooling sensation washes all over her body and looks to see the bruises are gone, but there's a bit of sting left. "Wow, it works... and it does tastes like those sodas my sister got from Japan." the ravenette stated, only to hears her best friend gasp and darts toward a body from the distance. Recognizes who it is, she too hightails after her.

Arriving, Riley kneels down and shakes the body. "Zack!" she tries to wake him up but no response, she checks his pulse by leaning on his chest... only to find none. "Crap." she then turns to her, who just came to her side. "We're too late... Zack's gone."

"Well skrits..." Mira swore.

"And I thought we could save him."

"Yeah… wait, where's Cloud?" looking around the wasteland.

"He couldn't be too far off." the brunette stated as she stands and then the body begins dissolving into the Lifestream. Seeing this, finally made the two realize that they are really in the game."This is really sad." as she turns away to cry on a corner. "If the video is bad enough, real-life is worse!" as she continues to weep.

Mira couldn't help but to agree, her eyes leaks tears and sniffs as Zack slowly dissolves. 'He didn't even get to meet Aerith.' she thought and it suddenly clicks to her. Reaching to her back, she unlocks her choker and looks at the flower on it. 'It's a crystal lily… good.' she thought and snaps the crystal off the choker, then kneels and places the flower on the fallen SOLDIER's chest. "I'm sorry if it's not the real flower, but this is the kind Aerith plants, right?" she then smiles gently with hints of sadness in it. "Don't worry, we'll watch over Aerith and Cloud... so don't worry that much." she then stands and steps back as she wears her choker again. "A hero should have a bit of a happy ending, after all."

She then turns to Riley and gently drags her best friend away, the two heads to Midgar with heavy hearts that they couldn't be there sooner for Zack.

**:::^*^:::**

Monster encounters are not very thrilling, even in real-life, but if there is any consolation is that they earned enough gil and got a few potions. It took half a day for the girls arrive on Midgar... and once they are there. "Whoa, wait, isn't the entrance for Midgar in Sector 5 lock in the game...?" Riley asked and Mira looks at her. "I mean, we don't have a key card."

"Crap... wait, how did Cloud get in there anyway?" the ravenette asked, she too is baffled on how the blonde got in the slums.

"No clue."

They looks around the fence and soon they find a lucky break, not far they saw a Kalm Fang digging a hole on the fence and slips in. They waited till the said dog come back out with a loot and walks back into the wasteland. Taking the chance, they make a beeline on the hole and digs it to make it a bit bigger so they can get in a bit easier. The girls crawl their way in with a little difficulty since the keytar strap or scarf got snag a bit. Once they got in, they quickly run into the slums and they stop on a particular building.

"Aerith's Church..." the brunette said in awe, staring at it and looks at Mira. "Should we go in and check if Aerith is there."

"... Yeah, just to make sure she's okay, considering she could sense the Lifestream and her boyfriend's death." the ravenette said as she looks down on the ground. Breathing in and gathering enough confidence, they push the doors open… only Aerith is not there. "Odd... If I remember correctly, in Crisis Core, she was here tending the flowers till she somewhat sense Zack died." Mira stated as they look around

To their credit, the whole building, despite being old, is warm, whimsical and welcoming. And there on the front are the flowers that the flower girl cares, swaying and absorbing the sunlight to grow more vibrant and healthy. Of course, there's the ever not-so fixed roof which Zack made as he fell and crash lands on the flowers.

'I bet the flowers will not be thrilled on the next person who will crash on them again.' the ravenette smiled at that thought as Riley releases her breathe.

"I guess she left to find comfort... you know, he died." the brunette pointed out. "She might headed back home, to her mom."

Looking at the flowers, she sighs and turns to leave...

_"Hello."_

She froze for a moment there and looks back to find no one aside from Riley.

"Something wrong?" Riley asked.

Looking at her best friend and shaking her head, the two heads out and makes their way to Sector 7.

Unknown to them, the flowers are leaning towards the door as they left before standing upright.

**:::^*^:::**

They trekked thru Sector 6 and to their surprise, the area is empty except with a few houses and metal scraps/trash. Although puzzled, there are still a few monsters roaming around and both girls are not amuse on facing the horror house. Thankfully, they learned to flee at the right time as Mira unwittingly dance in front of the monster and causing it to become blind.

"Oh come on! Like you can dance! You're a house!" the ravenette protested till Riley yanks her away and escapes.

However, the gate is still close and the two decided to stick around in the playground as they wait.

"So... after we find Cloud, we'll stick with him, right?" Riley asked as they sit on the swings.

"Yeah, we did promise to Zack after all." her best friend stated, as she adjust the weight of the keytar to her front and leans on one of the poles of the swing.

Then they stop speaking for a moment as they try to process what happened earlier... A storm and earthquake happened, they guessed that the building broke down and nearly buried them alive. But the unexplainable happened and they woke up in Midgar Wasteland, with their outfit changed and were given items that are unexpectedly useful. When they found out that they are in Gaia and the monsters attacked them, they learned what their job class are. After that, they recognized the scream earlier and made their way to the source... Only that they are too late and Zack Fair died. Both girls are crestfallen that Zack's fate remains the same, but they promised to take care of both Aerith and Cloud.

Which leads them back here, waiting for the Sector 7 gate to open and to look for Cloud.

"Hey, do you think our parents are worrying about us?" Mira asked as she shifts the weight of her keytar a bit.

"Possible... after all, a heavy rain and an earthquake happening at the same time? That is scary like heck."

"I bet they set the bloodhounds on us." and her best friend laughs, then they heard an earth shaking sound and turns to see the gate opening. "Come on, we got a promise to keep." as she push herself of the pole.

"You know, I get a feeling that we might break this game at some point." the mime points out with a smile and the songstress just smiles a bit. They then head into Sector 7 and make their way to the train station. And right there, they found who they are looking for.

Staggering and limping his way to the station, using the huge blade as a clutch...

'Cloud...' they both thought.

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><p>Silver: Sorry, couldn't save the dude, but they found the other. YAY! Read and Review.<p> 


	3. Intermezzo

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird does not own Final Fantasy 7, only her OCs… Otherwise, we might end up having a not-so-epic battle with the lawsuits.)

_**Altering Rhythm**_

_**Intermezzo **_

Silver: Made changes due to studying the timeline in FF Wiki.

DATE: August 25, 2014

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><p><strong>Intermezzo<strong>

Both of them stared at the blonde man, the very and would-be enemy of the One-Wing Angel and Gaia's future protector. He staggers to the train station, dragging and using the sword as a clutch till the tip of the blade got snag by a crack on the floor. He fell flat on his face causing them to yelp and rush to his side.

"C- I mean, hey! Are you okay?" Mira exclaims as she pulls him up while Riley tries to lift the huge sword.

"Golly! This sword is heavy!" the brunette yelped at the actual weight of the sword, as her best friend heaves him to a corner near the train. She ends up dragging the equipment instead and places it near the wall. Taking some breaths, the two takes a good look on the blonde and notices that the eyes are still hazy. "Man, he's still out of it." then she looks around the station only to find it empty. "Not to mention that this place is eerily empty."

"So… should we stay with him and wait for her?" Mira asked, looking at her friend.

"I guess we could wait."

The two stands guard on the blonde, making sure he is not carried off by Shinra troopers or sorts. Once, they shoo a dog on attempting to pee on him and a few rats from biting.

"You know, I kinda notice that he is still wearing the First Class uniform Z-he gave to him." Riley pointed out.

"Whoa, you're right… isn't he suppose to wear the original outfit in the original game? I mean, she met him in THAT outfit."

"True…" a few minutes passes by. "Speaking of her, is she even coming?"

The two looks at the Sector 7 station, which is quite empty before looking at one another.

"That's odd… If I remember correctly, they should meet here…" The mime points out, as she wonders why there is a lack of people in the station. Her friend seems to agree with her till something clicks in her mind.

"Riley… What date is it today?"

"Huh… March 27." the mime answered as she looks at her.

"No! That's Earth-time! I meant the date here!"

"Oh… well, if I remember correctly and he died, I would say it's late Sept-" Then her eyes widen as it clicks in her and looks at the songstress. They both share the same expression as they thought of one thing…

They are a month early from Cloud's initial reunion with Tifa… and a few days away from the Zirconaide vs. Turk fight.

With that, Riley decided to check the bar, to see if the bar maid and AVALANCHE are there or not. As she watches her friend go and investigate the place, the ravenette sighs and drops to the floor right beside Cloud. She looks at him again and she sees the blue eyes are still hazy and staring blankly at the stone ground.

Both she and Riley knew that if he does not learn of the truth, he'll have a serious breakdown and a severe guilt he'll carry in the far future. But telling him about it right now is useless, because the death of his friend broke his mind and is far to reach with reasoning and comfort. Right now, his mind is in the process of building a fake persona to protect himself. It also doesn't help on the fact that Tifa would rather hide the truth than telling.

Because the truth is a growing and ticking time-bomb… if one decides to hide the truth from others, expect a large disaster coming their way and those defenses will be useless.

Sighing and looks at the catatonic man. "Cloud… Everything will be alright… Just hold on, okay?" she whispers.

**:::^*^:::**

Checking the place out, Riley saw a notice on the board nearby and reads it. "WANTED: Bar Maid, has to have pleasing perso- okay, we are officially a month early." She miffs as she crosses her arms.

Looking around she notices the pillar that supports every sector plates above and glares at it. 'The very thing that balance the life and death of the people down here, and it is frankly a scary thought… if we're going to make a change, let's start with this place.' she thought and then heads back to the two at the station.

After hearing that they are quite early from Cloud and Tifa's reunion, they look at him as he groans a bit. "We can't leave him here, some people might loot his sword." the keytar player stated.

"I know that, Meer." the brunette explains as she looks around until an idea forms. "Okay, why don't we take Cloud to the Wall Market Inn? That way, he'll be safe from muggers and thieves while he's… like this for the entire month."

The songstress thinks about it then looks at her best friend. "It's not a bad idea, but Wall Market is where the Don Corneo's crime group resides." She points out. "I don't know if his men could loot the sword, but we're going to be in big trouble if he sets his eyes on us."

"Ugh…" The mime groans in disgust, as she dislikes that cowardly, dirty old man who discards women like toys after he loses interest on them. "You got a point there. It seems we'll be scouting each sectors for a safe place to stay, until the initial meeting."

"Right." As the songstress picks up the sword and drags it. "You carry him while I'll drag the sword."

"What?! Hey! The sword is heavy!"

"Carrying a dead weight is even heavier!" the ravenette smartly shouts back as she lifts continues her way to Wall Market. Losing on that one, Riley takes one of Cloud's arms and places it over her. She then lifts him but she nearly loses her air due to his heavy weight, then she adjusts the position so that he's on her back and manages to drag him towards the Wall Market.

**:::^*^:::**

"DO MI Dush!" the brunette babbled as she heaves the blonde man to the bed in the room they rented. It is a good thing that the price of the place is cheap, since they are saving for renting a place for a month and other equipments they plan to get. Huffing and puffing as she collapses by the bedside and Mira place the sword by the wall near the bed. "Damn, he's one dead weight."

"I told you." her best friend replied with a cheeky smile.

"I sometimes I hate you…" but that only made the songstress giggled as she decided to check out her pouch. "Okay… so, now we got him here. Should we head out, look for a place for a month? Hunt monsters for extra gil? Or stay here for tonight and get some rest?"

"I don't know. I don't have a watch to check the time… what are you doing?"

"Checking stuffs, so far I got a soft, red feather…"

"That's Phoenix Down." as her friend places the item on her bed and continues digging her pouch. But then surprise came to them as the mime pulls out a very familiar item that shouldn't exist in Gaia. "Holy skrits! You still got your smart phone!?" she asked her friend incredulously, as they both stare at the Samsung Galaxy S5 in the brunette's hands. Then the mime quickly placed the phone down, rummages in her pouch and pulls out some more Earth-related items.

"OMG…! Our stuffs…!" Riley said in shock as she looks at her stuffs mix with Gaia- related items. Her best friend stares at the only proofs that they don't belong here in this world. "Oi… check your belt bags, your phone and stuff could be there too."

Taking that advice, Mira checks her pouches and indeed she finds her new phone and the handheld game console in it. Along with a medical kit, a make-up kit, a small towel, some spare hair ties and… a purple apple. "Whoa… I… got a Dumbapple." she stated and places the fruit on the bed.

"Cool! Can we taste it?" Riley asked, on seeing the fruit and she is hype to taste a Final Fantasy fruit.

Laughing a bit, the ravenette borrows the brunette's knife, washes it clean, and then she cuts the apple into three equal parts. As the mime munch on her piece, the songstress dices the other part and tries to feed it to Cloud. Of course, her friend pitches in so that when Tifa sees him, he's not thin as a stick… although, the mako might have kept him healthy but still not an excuse. Once they manage to get the blonde man to swallow his fruit, the two once more examines the pouches out see if they have other Earth or Gaia related items.

"Okay." Mira said, while they are munching on their pieces of apple and looking at the items they got. On one side of the bed, are the Earth-related items and the Gaia-related ones are on the other side. Both women look at the Gaia-related ones first. "We got potions, a pair of Phoenix Downs, one ether which you manage to mime/steal from a Prowler and 1200 gil from looting those monsters."

"And not only that, we got these cool accessories. Ta da!" the brunette stated joyfully as she shows her friend the pair of silver ring with a thin, gold cross on it. "Touph Rings!"

"I'm surprise we have those. If I remember correctly you can only steal those from Reno twice in the game."

"Yup, that makes these rings rare… well, except for a certain cheatsy doodle involving the W-Item materia." the brunette scoffs the last part, before putting on the silver ring. She feels quite a tingle in her as if nothing can tire her out. "And wow, I feel the effects." As she gives the other ring to the ravenette.

The songstress puts it's on, she too is surprise on feeling the effects and smiled a bit. Then they look at other Gaia-related items and picks up one of the two bracelets. "I don't get why those game creators named these bracelet as armors, I don't see how this is protective aside from protecting the wrist from being slit."

The mime just shrugs at that as she takes out another bracelet from her pocket of her hoodie. The armlet has a metallic green sheen and the logo of the Shinra Company. "Nevertheless, it such a waste to throw such good armlet out."

"Seriously, they throw that out in the slums?" the songstress looks at the Shinra Beta with a brow raise.

"No idea, either they throw it or lost it, it's finder's keepers… Oh and I think we should change his pauldron." As she take another item out of her pocket and holds up the very singular, metal and screwed pauldron, the very exact one Cloud suppose to wear right now.

"Wha-wait, where did you get that?"

"While moving thru the playground and nearly falling flat to the ground, I found it under the slide." she stated and places both items on the bed. They then discuss about finding the rest of his supposed parts of outfit needed to find. Looking at the uniform he's wearing… the pauldrons and gloves needs replacement, the belts can stay and although in the game his outfit is dark blue, purple or sorts… the black can still work.

Turning to the Earth-related items, they got their PS Vita, their gadgets' charger, a pair of hand-crank chargers, a pair of Bluetooth headsets, medical kits, Mira's make-up kit, and their wallets filled with Earth currency of their country and IDs. They then check on their phones and handheld console and deleted some files if they are stolen.

They couldn't risk those people to look what their future will be.

After checking their items, the two checks on Mira's keytar… Other than its looks like an Earth-related product, they can't open it because they don't have any tools. Plus with the strange screws and bolts, they doubt they could find the right tools for it. Instead they examine the function and the look of the instrument. Mira owned a synthesizer back in Earth, so the instrument is no stranger to her except that she has to carry it like a guitar. The keytar looks like an Alesis Vortex with a few additional keys, buttons and a pair of small speakers installed on one end. But what surprises both women is how advance this instrument is… it have a small computer-touch screen which is hidden on the back, all it needs is to pull it out and lock it in place. They just found that out when Riley accidentally pulls out a part of the instrument when she was looking for the battery compartment. With that, Mira can actually make music right on the instrument and there's no need for a computer. Still, despite a few advance techs, they are clueless on how this instrument is a weapon.

The mime miffs that her friend got quite a weapon while she only got a military dagger, but the songstress counters back at the brunette on her miming skills. Eventually, they decided to go monster hunting while testing the instrument and the mime skills, along with searching for the rest of Cloud's outfit.

So they pack up, made sure that Cloud tucked safely in bed, locked the door and keys with them, the two heads out before it becomes really late.

**:::^*^:::**

"Riley! Watch your back!" as Mira shot down a Whole Eater, which scuttled it's way behind the mime, with a shockwave blast. The mime strikes down another Whole Eater, before turning to her best friend and thanking her.

After taking down a group of Whole Eaters, they take a break and sit on the top of a metal-scrap hill, while they assess their job skills. Both women did not buy any materia as they decided to find out more of their job skills. Also, Riley took that chance to retrace her self-defense skills that her older brother taught her, in case her miming skill fails. So far, Mira's starting songstress skills are Darkness Dance and Esoteric Melody, the last one is quite useful for casters like Cloud and Aerith. And Riley's miming skills improved a bit as she mimicked Blast Shot from an old Gun Bull Head (a transparent, part of the gun form on the top of her arm). Of course, the mime refined her stealing skills by stealing Ether (Hedgehog Pie) and Potion (Whole Eater) from the monsters.

Still it they can't help to be puzzled… as Riley's mime abilities can mimic some moves that are not in the Enemy Skill list. And Mira's keytar can shoot shocking, sound wave shots, which makes the ravenette job class more than just a support. For now, they assumed that Riley's miming ability is based from Bartz in Dissidia and Mira's keytar is a very advance instrument.

After that, Mira places her keytar down as Riley lay back and looks out at the sky thru the unfinished parts of the sector. Both women are silent as the noise of construction, people talking or shouting and vehicles are heard.

"I wonder if we got a divine or a hideous benefactor?" the mime asked, as she remembers certain fanfics which a character got sent into Gaia thru divine or alien intervention.

"That could be a possibility." The songstress replied and looks at her friend. "Mind you, I would rather have either one of the two goddesses than a life-sucking alien as the reason why we're here."

"Aye to that." As she sits up and place an arm on her knees, as she looks at the waste land area thru the gap of the plate and the slums. "Are we here to interfere? Or makes sure that the timeline is in the right way?"

"I don't know." As the songstress remembers some fanfics relating to their situation. Most of them are about some protagonists changing the characters' fates, while a few maintains the storyline as it is. "What about you, Riley? What do you think?" she asked as she looks at her best friend.

The mime thought about it for a short while, before looking at her best friend with a confident spark in her eyes. "Well… I believe that Sephiroth deserves the truth and a second chance. Hojo is the real villain and he should be punished for all the tragedies he caused." She answered.

"You know what? It seems that we are going to break this game's story as I agree with you." Mira said as she looks at her best friend with a similar spark and the mime smiles at that.

"So… aside from babysitting Cloud, what are our plans?"

**:::^*^:::**

_Wandering around…_

_Gathering all of the knowledge…_

_When a brief anomaly happened…_

_Then disappeared._

_But in that brief moment, a familiar essence is sensed._

_It piqued his interest._

_And… the slumber breaks and it awakens. _

**:::^**_27 days later…_**^:::**

Almost a month has passed… And it is not enough to make a lot of plans and preparations against tragedy. They do have another month before the explosion of Reactor 1, but they'll be mostly spending time planning with the AVALANCHE. But they did put one plan in motion and that will still be going, even if they stopped or left the city.

'Still it's a start. We still got a few other plans, even if we have to wing it.' Mira thought as she cross out the 27th day from the calendar, the songstress sighs a bit as she places the pen down on the table. She then looks out of the window as she leans on the side of the wall. Right now, Riley is in Sector 7 to see if the group is there now.

The songstress remembers the eventful days that happened as both women prepares for the incoming crisis.

Because they have to wait till the initial meeting, they decided to rent a place for a month. And they agreed and chose Sector 1 slums as their temporary shelter for 30 days. Reasons why they chose Sector 1 are: First and mainly, the Turks… Sector 8 is the training ground of the Turks, they are not too sure about the slums area but they don't want to risk it. And in Sector 5, there are Turks patrolling and watching over Aerith. Another reason why is due to the Zirconaide and Turk fight in October 5th, as much as possible they want to put some distance to avoid the shockwave that destroyed Sector 6. Both women are relieved that Sector 6 was under construction, which means no casualty involved. Also, they want to avoid those Shinra droids called Heads that wanders around the slums. Both Earth women remembered that these machines could not tell the difference between a SOLDIER and a monster. Sector 1 only has a few of these machines but plenty of monsters, due to some people wanting to earn quick gil by selling machine parts.

The house they rented for a month is set near the edge of the plate's circle, near the reactor. It is a bit far from the slum's plaza and thieves can target their house, which is why both women modified and added some junks to hide the house.

Monster hunting is their primary source of income and they didn't mind as they needed to train for the incoming tragedy. They enhanced their Job skills, Mira learned how to MP Mambo and Riley getting a few Enemy skills. They also train on the elements that are included and not included in JRPGs. Such elements like parkour and stealth… Parkour is required as they are not fighters nor enhance humans, and this is where Riley excels at and where Mira needs improvement on. And then there's stealth, an element that is hardly used in JRPG games as players needs to level up their characters to beat a boss. But that element is useful for them as they needed to outwit Sephiroth, Hojo and the tragedy they caused.

Snapping out of her thought and looking at the clock, the songstress heads to Cloud's room and relaxes on seeing that he is still in bed. But he is not asleep but in the same unresponsive catatonic state, staring blankly at the ceiling and… apparently, catatonic or not, the blonde have developed a disorder.

It was two day after their arrival in Gaia and after paying for the rent of the house. When they saw the blonde went missing from the inn, they scrambled out looking for the blonde and found him fighting against two Hell Houses. And his moves are sloppy as if he is trying to perform a move he only read, but not trained on. After they jump in to help him and got rid of the monsters, the blonde suddenly slump and fell to the ground. Both of them yelped and ran to the blonde's side to see if he's okay. Seeing Cloud back in his unresponsive state and staring blankly at them, they sighed a bit in relief with concern in the mix. The 'sleep-fighting' happened from time to time, even after moving into Sector 1. It happened was just one or two days apart and the longest: three days. It was around the time when they leave Cloud in the house, to earn some gil thru monster hunting or looking for more hidden paths. But on the way back, they found Cloud 'sleep-fighting' again and they have to quickly save him. And it kept happening till Riley suggested monitoring Cloud's 'sleep-fighting' instead of strapping him on the bed. The songstress reluctantly agreed on that as the blonde have the strength of a SOLDIER, she doubt that it can hold him down. The mime pointed out that it is somewhat effective, as Cloud is instinctively/subconsciously training his body and his sloppy moves are refining bit by bit.

However, they theorized that the alien cells that were injected to him are the cause of his disorder. Yet they can't tell who's doing that… Sephiroth or Jenova.

The songstress is then snapped out of her thoughts, when she heard the door open with a bang and running footsteps. She turns to see Riley running to towards her and immediately steps away, as the mime skids to a stop and almost hits the bathroom door behind her.

"Whoa!" the mime yelps as she almost tips herself forward but manages to get her balance back. As she sighs in relief that she didn't hit the door, she looks at her best friend with an excited face. "They're here! The AVALANCHE has arrived in Sector 7."

"Great, how they are doing?" the ravenette asked.

"Well, they are apparently settling in the bar." The mime replies, as she remembers seeing the AVALANCHE moved into the bar. Of course, the owner gladly handed the bar to them as he too disliked Shinra. He also gave a quick tutorial to Tifa on how to maintain the bar, as the owner decided to look for more recruits outside to help with their cause. "But they began scouting and securing the area, so I didn't stay long." As she looks at the blonde man. "So, when do we drag him back to the train station?"

"Well, we should let them get use on their new place…" the songstress said as she thinks about it, then looks at her friend. "I guess the best time is the day after tomorrow."

"Alright, the day after tomorrow then." The brunette agrees with her as she knew that the group is uneasy to be living under their enemies' base. She then looks at the catatonic hero in the room, before sighing in amusement. "Seriously… I never thought that we'll be the ones who modified his outfit."

Cloud is now sporting the original outfit in FFVII, and it looks like a mix between Dissidia and Crisis Core. They didn't change the leather belts and straps, but they removed a part of the strap on the right since there's no right pauldon. Unlike the pauldron they found, which could be a part of a dismantled machine, the gloves and the gauntlet have to be purchased. Buying the gloves is easy, but the gauntlet has to be customized in the armor shop. They landed on a bit of a snag when they remember that are two design versions of the gauntlet. Eventually they decided on the Dissidia design, but they made it a little big and bulky for added protection.

"So…" Mira said and the mime looks at her. "Got any idea what to do today and tomorrow?"

Riley thinks for a moment and it occur to her. "Hey, we haven't done any materia training!"

"… Crap." The songstress stated. They have not arranged a schedule on learning to use a materia, as they were busy training their Job Class and planning a lot. With that, the mime just sped out of the house and heads to the materia shop. "Hey! Wait for me!" she said loudly at the mime, grabbing her keytar, locking the doors and runs after her best friend.

And later that day, both women just agreed that they don't have enough time.

**:::^*^:::**

After two days of hasty materia lessons and a lot of magic mishaps, before deciding to continue practice even when they join the group… it is time to move Cloud to the train station.

Both women woke up extremely early in the morning, wanting to avoid the guard station at the train. Once they finished checking their inventory and their equipment, they place the blonde on the trolley they found a week ago and use a huge box for cover. Making sure not a single item is left in the house, especially the Earth-related ones, they lock up the place and Riley quickly returns the key to the owner's place. And then they both make their way to Sector 7.

On arriving there and to their luck, there are no guards on the station. And with that, they place Cloud near the platform and the lamp post before getting rid of the trolley and box.

But they didn't leave him completely by himself.

Seven hours pass…

"Did she came?" Mira asked as she came back from exploring the Sector 5. However, she still couldn't meet Aerith, as the church is empty again. 'She's probably selling flowers above.' She thought, as she stops at her best friend's side.

"No, not yet." Riley stated as they watch on Cloud by the sides, making sure no one tries to loot the Buster Sword. To pass time, one watches over the blonde, and the other goes off exploring or extra practice on materia. "Your turn."

"Be careful."

And the brunette gives her a thumbs-up as she left to go monster-hunting and materia practice. The ravenette leans on the wall, keeping an eye on the blonde as she waits for the meeting of him and Tifa. In a low volume, she hums a song as the time goes by and another train comes, unloading the passengers who stare at the sick blonde with either disgust or pity.

But one guy has no manners at all and throws a plastic cup filled with soda right on the blonde's head.

"HEY!" Mira shouts and briskly made her way to the blonde, as she glares at the very man who thrown the soda. Kneeling to his side, she takes out the towel from her pouch as she plucks off the plastic cup that is still hanging on his hair. "Are you okay?"

As she is about to wipe the liquid off him… she gasps when his hand shots up and grabs her wrist. She winces at the hard grip as she looks at him…

Only to see the glowing blue eyes staring back at her.

"Who are you?" Cloud demanded.

* * *

><p>Silver: Yep, he manage to snap back but not on Tifa…Yikes, that's a change. Added a month worth of training and planning, and more job class skills for them. Also about Cloud's left gauntlet, there are two versions I based the design on. Of course, the first is Dissidia and the other is from Lightning Returns... mind you, Lightning version seems to be bulky.<p> 


	4. The Masquerade

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird does not own Final Fantasy 7, only her OCs… Otherwise, we might end up having a not-so-epic battle with the lawsuits.)

_**Altering Rhythm**_

_**The Masquerade **_

Silver: With Cloud back to reality… time to get in trouble with AVALANCHE. So why the title is Masquerade? It's pretty simple reason, duh… Mira and Riley came from another world, Cloud got a trauma due to his friend just died and Tifa knows all the truth about the Nibelheim Incident and is clueless on how he knows them. So... yeah... they're all pretending! (falls to the floor)

* * *

><p><strong>The Masquerade<strong>

Green and Blue

For a moment, they felt like they are in a intense stare-off. She could see the signs of confusion and fatigue in his eyes, while trying to see if she could find traces of the man before the trauma happened. He is on alert, looking at her and trying to find out if she's a threat or not.

Eventually… she closes her eyes and then opens them again with a smile.

"I'm just a traveler who is just concern on your health." Mira said in a friendly manner. Seeing she's no threat, he let's her go and he groans a little from the exhaustion. "You okay?" she asked. "If you want you can go after that guy who threw the soda at you." pointing at the direction where the rude guy went to.

"Ugh… not interested." Cloud stated and she have to hold her laugh on his comment, as she lends him her towel. Once he swipes off the soda, he accepts her help and with the support from her and the sword, he manages to get up. Once he gets his bearing, he stands up straight and twirls the huge sword before putting it on his back where the magnetic holster is.

"Thanks, I'll be fine from here." he stated.

"Are you sure you don't need help?" she asked, looking at him with concern while mentally panicking. 'Damn! Where is Tifa?' she thought.

"Nah, there's no need." he replied with a grin which taken her aback.

'He's not the same Cloud I saw in Crisis Core.' the songstress thought. Which is true, Cloud is a shy and quiet guy, whose maturity seems to be over-develop back when he was a kid. Although mature, he's very indecisive and socially awkward, yet he is longing for friendship as it was shown in the game. And right now… what is she seeing is a mash-up and mixed personality of himself and Zack.

"Cloud?"

The two turns to see… none other than Tifa Lockhart in her signature white tank top, black miniskirt which is held by suspenders and the leather gloves. Mira mentally thank her lucky stars that the martial artist and Cloud's childhood neighbor is finally here. Then she notice something… 'She looks exactly like the Dissidia design…and is she a bit shorter than me?' then looks at Cloud, who's a bit taller than her and then remembers her height. 'Yeah, I nearly forgot that I'm 5'6"… And Riley is about an inch taller from Cloud!'

"Tifa?" Cloud said and nearly trips over as she approaches her, to his luck Mira is able to keep him from tumbling although the sword slips and fell to the floor with a loud clang.

"Whoa!" the songstress yelps, as it took everything not to make him fall.

"Cloud, are you okay?" Tifa asked, walking briskly to his side and touches his face. "I never thought to find you here!"

"Yeah, it's been a while." he replied.

"What happen to you? You don't look well."

"… It's nothing, I'm okay."

"How long has it been?" she asked and the songstress immediately knows where this is going, as Cloud becomes silent for a moment with eyes looking distant before he answers.

"It's been 5 years." he stated, as her expression changes for a moment before hiding it. She knew that she did not saw him when he left with Johnny for Midgar to become SOLDIER.

"Cloud… what happen to you after you left Nibelheim?"

But before he could say anything. "Hey Meer, I- whoa, you need help there?" she asked, as her friend looks at her.

"Ya think?" she snaps at her and Tifa notices that she is practically getting exhausted on helping her childhood friend up.

Riley quickly gets the sword up and helps Mira on supporting Cloud's weight, made a quick suggestion of finding a place to seat. Tifa didn't hesitate on leading the three to her bar, Seventh Heaven.

**:::^*^:::**

Arriving at the bar, the two places Cloud on the stool by the bar and they too take a seat themselves each beside him. As Tifa goes behind the bar and gets them something to drink…"By the way, I didn't catch your names." he said and looks at the two girls.

"Sorry bout that, I'm Mira Calliope." the songstress introduce herself.

"And my name is Riley Alex Bautista." the brunette mime said cheerily.

"Nice to meet you two, I'm Tifa Lockhart and this man whom you helped is Cloud Strife. I never seen you two around here, are you new?" Tifa asked as she mix some drinks.

"Yeah, we traveled quite a lot before coming here and meeting your friend here, Miss Lockhart." the ravenette asked, pretending not to know her.

"Oh, it's just Tifa." the bar maid said in a friendly manner, then give the three their drinks. "But what make you come to Midgar?"

"It's kinda personal, sorry." Mira stated with a apologetic tone, not taking her drink as Riley looks away while taking a careful sip of her drink.

"So got any work available while we're here?" Riley asked, as she place her glass down.

"Looking for work too?" the blonde man asked, looking at them.

"Yeah, you?"

"I'm a mercenary, I quit SOLDIER and decided to offer my service to those who can pay." and both girls caught Tifa turning quickly to look at him.

"Really? What rank are you?" Mira asked.

There she notices a brief flash on his eyes before he said that he's a 1st Class, the bar maid's eyes widens and stares at him for a moment when…

"Hit the deck!" Riley shouts in alert as gunshots were heard outside and pulls her best friend down, as Cloud raises his sword in self-defense. And then it stops, then somebody enters the bar and both girls recognizes who it is.

"Tifa, what are they doing here? And why are they on the floor?" pointing at the two girls who are laying low out of reflect.

"It's common sense to lay low in a shoot out!" the brunette retorted as she and her friend finally meets Barret Wallace. He is a black man, very muscular like those wrestlers in WWE, the very thing that made them stare on him is his gun arm. It's looks like a huge silver can with six pipe attach on one end… it's not that much threatening unless he's planning to point and shoot at them.

As Cloud lower his sword and puts it back on his holster. "Sorry about him, he… tends to do that when he's frustrated." Tifa apologizes for him and looks at the muscle-bound black man. "And Barret, I got an old friend here and I'm just helping him out."

"Well they need to leave… NOW." he stated.

"Then I better head off and find work." Cloud said and is about to head out when Tifa stops him. As she runs toward him, trying to getting him to stay until she blurts out that she could pay him, causing the other man to react and then…

"Hey Barret, about the bomb…" a brunette, rebel-looking woman comes in and reports to the gun-arm man.

"Bomb?" Mira, Riley and Cloud said in unison and they look at each other with surprise. Jessie turns to look at the three with shock of being busted etched on her face, as they look at her.

And… there's silence…

"And we're out-"

"Don't move!" Barret yelled at the two girls causing them to fall off their stools and freeze on the ground, seeing the AVALANCHE leader points his gun arm at them. The only thing that is missing to them is that someone would say 'This is a hold up!'. And Tifa quickly comes to their aid to calm him down, and then begins explaining about her bar being a hide out for AVALANCHE. For the whole time, Cloud merely listens while the girls stays still from being shot.

"I see… my services is 2000 gil, no more, no less." he stated coolly, and Barret goes into a fit again till Tifa points out that he is formerly a SOLDIER. Still that didn't convince him, until the bar maid pulls the huge man to a corner for a moment and privately talk about it. Both girls watches as Cloud leans casually on the table, then…

"Fine, but make sure the job goes well or you'll get leads instead." the AVALANCHE leader stated as he looks at the blonde, who nodded in response. Then he looks at the two girls, with the gun-arm back at them.

"Uh… can't we discuss this for a moment?" Mira said nervously, as Riley watches him and preparing to mimic the moves just in case he decides to shoot.

"Hmmm…" the huge man thought for a moment, still not lowering his weapon. "What do you think of Shinra?"

"They got the answers we wanted." Riley stated and her friend realizes the tone of her voice, thus letting her handle this situation.

"Answers?" he asked.

"It's a personal thing for me and Mira but with that pointing at us, I guess it's fine sharing it with you guys." the brunette stated. "But mind putting that down, please?"

With a grunt and a look from Tifa, he lowers his weapon and the girls can breathe. "Okay, seven years ago, there is a village called Banora just near Mideel and that's where we came from. But one day, after me and Mira joined her father on his delivery to see Mideel, Banora is… destroyed."

Then the songstress pitch in. "We were shock and horrified on what happen to the village and we decided to travel around after we couldn't find any survivors. That is a year ago… we met a man who mentions about the bombing of our home back then and the only one who have those kinds of arsenal is Shinra itself." And the bar maid and Jessie gasped at this.

"You mean Shinra is the one who destroyed your homes?" Jessie asked and the huge man actually felt sympathy for the two.

"That's what the man said, he also mentions that the company sent someone there before they bomb the place." the brunette added and the two caught Tifa whispering her hatred on the company. "Anyway, after her dad pass away from sickness, we decided to come here and to get answers on why they destroyed our village."

"Looks like we're on the same boat." Barret stated and the two remembers that he came from a destroyed village too. "Tell me, how well can you two fight?"

"I'm pretty good at mimicking moves and decent on knife combat." Riley stated with a shrug, then points at Mira and her keytar. "And don't let that instrument fool you, it can cast status effect and can attack."

"Really?" he asked and looks skeptically at the instrument. "It's kinda, hard to believe that can be a weapon."

"Want to try?" Mira dared the huge man as she touches her keytar.

"Uh… no, I'll believe you." he quickly said, not wanting to know. "Well, you can get your answers you needed as you can help us take Shinra down."

"Do we get paid too?" the brunette asked, relief of not being shot before she yelps and hid behind Mira, when once more the huge man points his gun arm at her.

"You both can get a free place to stay, that's all." he stated with an annoyed tone in this voice and Tifa tries to calm him down again.

"Why don't you all take a rest now, since the mission is tomorrow." the bar maid suggested and Jessie heads to the pinball machine, which she press a secret button and it went down to their hidden base. Cloud jumps in, while the two girls decided to find a materia shop since they got gils to spend. Plus they'll be needing magic aside from Mira's status effect ability.

Of course, Barret threaten them if they run… but they're not planning that.

**:::^*^:::**

"Can't believe we made that up…" Mira said in a low tone, as they head for the Item Shop.

"Well… we can't say that we belong in a existing town/village or say that we came from another world. Turks will search on those places and come empty handed, and Shinra will sent us to that creepy, retard, fruit-loop they so-called a genius." Riley explains. "So I pick Banora instead, since it existed once and we could find ruins there along with the underground caves Genesis explored as a proof. Plus I doubt they could find our birth certificates there since they bomb it."

"True."

"Besides, if you read fan fiction, most people-drop-in-the-game would pick any town/village that is far from Shinra which still exist. Then they sent the Turks and the shit-hits-the-fan, automatically they send us to the cuckodolander."

"Aye… thank you Square Enix for Banora, Angeal and Genesis. Speaking of him, should we try getting him out of Deepground?" as they enter a shop.

"Hmmm… let's wait for the Sister Ray part, then let's try getting him out of there. Right now… I really don't want to die early."

Since they only got 1200 gil with an additional 300 from their scouting when they were waiting for Tifa, they can only buy one materias for each of them. Mira decided on the Restore while Riley tries to decide whether she'll take the Fire or Lightning… Eventually she decided to take the Lightning and paid the clerk. Looking at their materia, the are about the size of a gumball or a cat's eye marble. They then explore the area and then something clicks in the brunette's mind, which made her grin stupidly.

"Riley… I know that grin." Mira said in a flat tone and recognition of her friend behavior.

"Come on, let's scout this area before we go to bed!" the brunette yells cheerily as she grabs her friend and yanks her around the Sector.

**:::^*^:::**

_Return…_

_Must hide…_

_Till the right time._

**:::^*^:::**

_Return…_

_Reunite…_

_Missing you._

**:::^*^:::**

After they explore the area, the brunette made a mental note to ask Jessie a few stuffs as they return to the bar. On entering, Tifa greets them and then the two jumps into the basement where the rest of the AVALANCHE are. Riley manages to land on her two feet while Mira lands and lost balance, thus falling to her side on the floor.

"Mira, are you okay?" her best friend asked and she ends up getting a glare from her. "Sorry, standard question."

She then helps her up and Jessie came to them to see if the ravenette is okay. Seeing that she's fine, she then introduces the others and brief them about the mission for tomorrow. After that…

"Hey Jessie, can I ask you something?" the mime asked the rebellious lady.

"You can." she replied.

"Are there speakers around the sectors, which broadcasts some announcement or something?"

"Well… yes, but it's no longer in use since we got the televisions."

'Bingo.' she thought, as she discusses it with Jessie about the system and the possibility of fixing it as Mira attaches her Restore Materia on her bangle.

After their talk, the two talks for a bit before they too settle down on some boxes, with a blanket the rebel lady lent to them and sleeps.

* * *

><p>Silver: Yeah, I wonder why in some self-inserts chooses still existing towns when they can choose the ones that were destroyed back then? Moving on, what is Riley planning right now? Read and Review!<p> 


	5. Time to Rock it

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird does not own Final Fantasy 7, only her OCs… Otherwise, we might end up having a not-so-epic battle with the lawsuits.)

_**Altering Rhythm**_

_**Time to Rock it!**_

Silver: Time to bomb the first reactor!

* * *

><p><strong>Time to Rock it!<strong>

"_What do you mean…?"_

"_Then is it time?"_

"_I see… Then I shall wait."_

_And then he sleeps…_

**:::^*^:::**

Waking up, Mira cracks her neck and muttering about her uncomfortable sleeping position as she tries to get up… only to find her best friend is leaning on her.

"Ugh… Riley…" she groan and tries to get her friend off, only the brunette turns and hugs her friend with drool coming out of her mouth.

"Siopao…" her brunet friend stated dreamily as she dreams of food, and this made the ravenette annoyed. She tries getting her up and away, but the mime clings on her tightly and begging not to let her meat bun get taken away… until…

**SMACK!**

"OW!"

Cloud, who's resting on one corner of the room, jolts awake by the sound and looks to see the two girls are awake… And the mime sports a red mark on her cheeks while the songstress shakes her hand.

"Mira, why did you do that?" Riley whines and right now, she looks like a kicked puppy.

"You're drooling over me in your sleep!" her friend retorted back, as she check if there are any drool on her and finds one on her vest. As she wipes the drool off it, Tifa came down to see all of them are up and notices the red mark on Riley's face.

"What happen to you?" the bar maid asked.

"Her hug is like a Midgar Zolom on a poor chocobo and she drools in her sleep." the songstress said quickly before Riley would say anything.

"You could've shaken me awake instead of slapping me on the face!" the mime snaps.

"Did I mentions she's a bit of a heavy sleeper?" her best friend added, pointing at the brunette who slumps at that info.

"My best pal is so mean to me right now." Riley said in a sad childish tone and looks at Cloud then she clings on him. "Cloudy! Help me, my best friend is mean!"

"Oi! Stop clinging on people we just met! Riley!" the ravenette said exasperatedly, as the blonde swordsman tries to get the wailing brunette off and she have to help him.

Once she got her off him, they went to the pinball machine one by one and goes up to the bar where the rest of AVALANCHE are waiting. Tifa returns behind the counter, since she have to take care of the bar and Barret's daughter, Marlene. The AVALANCHE leader briefs them once more of their mission and head out to the train station, while Cloud takes a bit of time to get some materia and a few items.

"Do you guys need anything?" he asked the two girls.

"Well… we got one materias each… we probably need some antidotes, eh, Mira?" the brunette asked and the songstress thinks it over and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, why don't we go to the General Store, I heard they sell those there." her friend replied, then looks at Cloud. "See you at the train then."

As the mime heads out… "Sorry about Riley, Cloud. She sometimes have… a unpredictable mood-swings moment from time to time." Mira stated.

"… Just make sure she does not cling on me like at again." he stated as he too is about to exit the bar, then she chuckles and he stops.

"Sorry… but I cannot make promises like that, I told you she's unpredictable from times to times." as she is about to follow the mime then stops for a moment. "But I could teach you to avoid it, if you like?"

"I'll think about it…" he replied as he steps out to buy materias.

With a smile, she heads out to pick more stuffs with her friend, who is just waiting outside for her.

**:::^*^:::**

"Okay, let do a re-check once more…" the songstress stated. "Rule one, delete every single files about Final Fantasy 7... In other words, will you delete the Advent Children Complete now!"

"Awww come on! I place a password in my PS Vita!" the mime protested, protecting her little black gadget.

"Does that password happens to be your birthday?"

"… Dang, you stink."

"Just get rid of it!"

Apparently, before they head to the shop, the two have to do some minor readjustments on their gadgets. When they got a decent place to hide for a moment, they decided to make a quick check including some items. And right now, Mira is persuading Riley to delete the movie and some cutscenes from Dirge of Cerberus which the brunette downloaded in Youtube. After deleting the cutscenes, she still debated on deleting the movie since the earthquake back at their world probably destroyed their computer.

"Pleeeeeeeaaaaaassssssseeeee!" the brunette whined, batting her brown eyes at her.

"… Fine." the ravenette stated sourly as she exasperatedly slumps and her best friend whoops for joy. "But you will never use the PS Vita ever until we are practically out of sight and away from them."

"OKAY! So what's the next rule?"

"We should never mention anything of their past or what will happen soon, like Barret's friend in Gold Saucer."

"Got it… speaking about him, should we save that guy? I mean, he is Marlene's real father."

"Hmmm…" the songstress thought about it, then looks at her friend. "Yeah, let's try saving him too."

"Cool and the next?"

"Last rule, never show our gadgets. As much as possible let's try using the PHS of this world instead, and use our phones in private messaging… if there are any signals that matches ours in this world."

"Man… the buttons again…" the brunette whined as she pockets her PS Vita… then… "Uh… Mira, you know there are times this world can defy physics, right?"

"Yeah… because it is mako-enhance, why did you asked?" as she finishes checking her files and making sure her phone is lock, her eyes bugs out when her friend suddenly pulls out a pair of huge hardbound books from her pouch… FROM RILEY'S POUCH! "What. The. Heck?" she stated.

"Well… it explains why the crew can carry stuffs without backpacks, we got Pocket Space! Cool!"

"I suddenly feel like I'm in Loony Tunes…"

"Only without the chaotic, anthropomorphic animals… I don't think Sephiroth will tolerate a smart-aleck bunny or a greedy black duck."

"Right… pack up and let get those antidotes before Barret goes into another fit again." Mira stated out and her friend nodded, but before she even packs the books…

"HOLY WHISKERS! Mira, take a look on these titles!" Riley yelps and yanks her friend to her side as she too yelps at being pulled. The songstress gives her friend a glare for a moment and then looks at the books which made her wonder why her friend have them.

"The Big Book of Human Rights? International Humanitarian Law Book?" she looks at them and her brow raise in question, then she looks at her best friend. "Riley, what are these?" pointing at them.

"Okay, remember my dad wants me to become a lawyer and bought me a bunch of law books and stuff, right? These books are mine, they practically came from our world and I'm so happy to have them with me." the mime explains.

"And why?"

"Because I always wanted to smack these on Shinra and Hojo's faces! HA!" she whoops for joy.

Mira thinks about it… Gaia does not have any law concerning about humanity and Shinra just completely ignores the welfare of the people. Which, in turn, becomes a disastrous event when Genesis deserted the company with a platoon of 2nd and 3rd Class and Zack's Death in Crisis Core, and the Battle in Midgar in Dirge of Cerberus. 'I guess it's okay to let her do that on them.' she thought.

After Riley rejoices on having her books, they immediately packs them up, bought some antidotes in the General Shop and then quickly dash to the station where the AVALANCHE are waiting along with Cloud.

They are thankful on the fact that the train arrives at the same time they did.

**:::^*^:::**

Because the keytar is harmless and the dagger can be consider for self-defense, both girls gets into the cabs with Jessie, Biggs and Wedge while both Barret and Cloud rides on the top of the train because of their weapons. After some stations stops, they arrive at their destination and both Jessie and Biggs knocks out a pair of guards. Then the three when ahead as Barret jumps out of the train and the girls came out to see Cloud jump off with style. Mira felt Riley nudging at her before she elbows her back in reply.

"C'mon, newbies." the AVALANCHE leader stated and waves at them. "Follow me."

He went ahead as the two looks at each other, before they decided to take some potions from fallen guards. Cloud, on the other hand, went ahead of them and as he nears the door… a pair of troopers burst in and is about to shoot him, when in one quick motion he bought them down in one slash.

He grin at this as the two catches up and they quickly head to where the others are. On finding them, Jessie is busy unlocking the door while Wedge and Biggs serves as a look out. Upon nearing them, Biggs saw them and grew a bit excited.

"WOW! You used to be in SOLDIER all right! ... Not everyday ya find one in a group like AVALANCHE." he stated

"SOLDIER?" Jessie stiffen on that one, she thought Tifa was joking about the man's former occupation. "Aren't they the enemy? What's he doing us in AVALANCHE?"

"Hold it Jessie." he jumps into the blonde's defense. "He WAS in SOLDIER. He quit them and now he is one of us." then he looks at the Ex-SOLDIER. "By the way, I didn't catch your name…"

"…Cloud." the blonde stated in a monotone voice.

"Cloud, eh? I'm-"

"I don't care what your names are. Once this job's over... I'm outta here." the blonde cuts him off and the rebel seems to deflate.

"That is a bit mean, Cloudy." Mira stated and he turns to look at her with a glare.

"Don't care." he replied, as the songstress blew her bangs and Riley shakes her head.

"The hell you're doin'!" The group turns to see Barret running towards them. "I thought I told you never to move in a group!"

'We know… we already played this part for like a couple of times?' the girls thought as they shrug and does not bother listening. Apparently, they are fixing a plan of their own during the brief.

"Our target's the North Mako Reactor." the black man stated. "We'll meet on the bridge in front of it."

Then Jessie opened the gate and they all move in, but before the black man enters… he looks back at Cloud.

"EX-SOLDIER, huh? Don't trust ya!" he said with displease on the blonde and then looks at the girls. "Watch over tis idiot, would ya?" he orders them and heads into the reactor.

Both girls looks at one another, a little bit baffled on that and looks at Cloud who stares at the reactor before heading in with them tailing behind. The girls runs all of the way thru the short maze and the bridge, with Wedge heading towards the other door on the other side of the bridge. They reach the first hall where Biggs is unlocking the door and the girls look in awe of the place…

'If Square Enix is going to make a remake, they'll be needing all of the old FF7 crew and the manpower similar to Capcom since they plan releasing 3 RE games and a movie about it!' the brunette thought, as the details of the place is copied and paste in her mind.

Inevitably, Ex-SOLIER got the huge black man pissed again and orders him that he'll go with him and Riley.

"Cloud… is that even necessary?" Riley asked, she knew this is going to happen but to happen it in front of her and in real life… she and Mira have to endure his made-up and self-defense attitude till they find a way to help him recover from the trauma.

The blonde just shrugs her off as Biggs deciphered the lock and they all run into the next room. Then Jessie deciphers the next door, they all dart in and left Biggs guarding the hall. And before the elevator arrives, Riley slips into the next room and grab the Phoenix Down then scurries back before the group notices she's missing.

Walking towards her best friend. "Thanks for the cover." she whispered.

"No big." the songstress replied in a low volume.

When their ride arrives, the rebel lady asked either one of them to push the button and Mira presses it. "Down we go." she chirps.

And as the elevator goes down… "Little by little the reactor'll drain out all the life. And that'll be that." The AVALANCHE leader said, trying to convince the blonde that the world is in need of help.

"It's not my problem." the blonde stated flatly with a shrug.

"The planet's dyin', Cloud!" the black man blows a fuse.

"The only thing I care about is finishin' this job before security and the Roboguards come." and once more, the blonde just have to push the berserk button on his client.

"Geez, Cloud, continue with that act, I'll doubt anyone will hire you next time, bud." the mime stated, as she and her best friend stares at him.

'Okay, I take back a part about Cloud having Zack's personality… he is brave and confident like him, yes, probably some smugness from him like in the beginning of Crisis Core… but he got a damn ego and arrogant attitude there!' Mira thought as the elevator continues to head down. 'I think the other half of his personality came from himself or the fact that he thought that the First are like that.'

Mira remembers in one wiki, that Cloud thought that SOLDIER First are cool and cocky… and that is frankly an understatement since Crisis Core shows only four First and they are hardly cocky. '… Okay… maybe Genesis is one, somehow, but he changes for the better in the end and in DoC.' she thought.

Once the elevator stops, all of them files out and heads down the stairs, they enter the facility, jumps other a ledge and climbs down the ladder. Once they step down, Jessie takes her post as Mira picks up a potion on the beam. They then goes down and the girls looks wary at the mako below them, carefully crossed the pipes and there Mira takes her position near the ladder as they head down.

"Watch yourself." Mira said with concern.

"I'll be fine." the brunette cheekily replied and slides down the ladder.

**:::^*^:::**

Reaching down, Riley jogs after the two and there she saw Cloud inserting the restore materia he found. She knew the mako can be condense into a materia, but she wonders how they form on some convenient places where the party can reach while some NPCs can't.

"When we blow this place, this ain't gonna be nothin' more than a hunka junk." Barret stated and pulls out a bomb. And the brunette notices it to be one of those C4 explosives with a timer.

'The plastic explosives… not bad yet where the heck did they get a hand on it?' she thought.

"Cloud, you set the bomb." the black man ordered.

"Shouldn't you do it?" the blonde looks at him.

"Jus' do it! I gotta watch to make sure you don't pull nothin'." clearly the AVALANCHE leader is irritated, then looks at Riley. "And you, keep a close eye on him."

With a shrug. "Fine, be my guest." the blonde stated and takes the bomb. Riley knows what is going to happen, immediately takes out her dagger and makes sure her lightning materia is on her Titan Bangle. She watches as Cloud is about to set the bomb, when he freezes for a moment there and then snaps back to reality.

"What's wrong?" Barret asked and the blonde look at him with confusion.

"Huh?" he replied.

"What's wrong, Cloud? Hurry it up!"

"…Yeah, sorry."

Cloud bent down and sets the timer on the bomb for ten minutes, then the alarms goes off. As he looks around and saw a hatch opens…

"Heads up, here they come!" the black man yelled and pumps his gun arm, the first boss: the Guard Scorpion came out of the hatch and drop itself on them. The three responded in jumping back and all weapons out. It looks like the one in Crisis Core… only a little bigger in real-life, as it scans them.

"Whoa!" Riley yelps and avoids the bullets from the Rifle, she then concentrates on her materia and then feels a tingling sensation dancing on her hand. "Bolt!" she shouts and cast a stream of electricity from her hand to their huge foe. The machine stumbles for a moment before it resumes striking back at them once more. Barret then raise his arms and fired at the machine, only it only does little effect and the machine ignore him as it goes after Cloud and Riley who are the closest. Once more, she cast Bolt on it making it stagger and dodge roll away.

"Take note, should've earn enough gil to buy more materias." the brunette grumbles as she gets up.

"Don't ya got any weapon aside from that!" Barret asked as he continues to shoot.

"Nope, but I got something else!" the brunette quips and looks at Cloud, as he cast his own Bolt magic at it, making it stagger. "Got Bolt?"

"Yeah." he replied.

"Mind aiming for the tail?" she asked.

"Why?"

"The rifle can be avoided but the tail is going to be a pain in the ass, if it decided to attack us with that."

The blonde looks at the machine as they avoid another attack by it's tail. "… I see." seeing the sharp tail and nodded at her. He castes bolt on the very tip of the tail, only to miss when it moves a lot. "Damn it!"

"Hey! Hit the base! Not the tip! And Barret, shoot the sensors! Not it's legs!" she shouts that the two as she once more avoids the rifle. It made her wonder if she could've get a Fire Materia instead since the Ex-SOLDIER got a Lightning. But before Cloud could even cast at the tail…

"STOP!" she shouts and tackles Cloud down, preventing him from casting.

"GAH!" he yelped as they stumble to the floor. "What's wrong with you?" he demanded.

"Don't attack when it's tail is up!" she retorts back as she crouch up and is on defense position.

Looking up he saw she is right, the tail is up and he remembers what it does. "Be careful!"

'Ack! Don't-!' Riley thought frantically.

"Attack while it's tail is up!" the blonde stated, Barret nodded and shoots at the machine causing the mime to pale and scoots far from range. The robot scorpion sense the attack and it counters with a laser from it's tail, hitting Barret and Cloud while Riley manages to get out of range. The black man is the one who got mostly hit while Cloud is able to defend himself and only getting little damage by using his Buster Sword as a shield.

"It will counter back with a laser!" the blonde finishes and he stays out waiting for the tail to go down.

"Barret! Are you okay?" the mime darts back and helps him up.

"That hurts! Damn it, Cloud! Couldn't you say more earlier or something like 'Don't attack'!" the black man protest in pain as Riley takes a potion out of her pouch and gives it to him.

"It's not my fault you're that impatient." Cloud stated as he remains on guard and waits for the tail to go down.

Barret is about to cuss him again, when… "Again, Cloud, if you are going to be a mercenary, put a little care on your clients." Riley stated with her hands on her hips. "Otherwise, I doubt you can survive without any job or gil."

He looks at her before concentrating back to the machine, which has now lowered it's tail. He didn't waste time on charging in and slicing one of it's legs, before he is knock back by it's tail. Riley quickly cast Bolt on it's tail and Barret continues to shoot at it's head. They keep doing that, till Riley is starting to feel off…

'Ugh… I'm feeling really spinny…' she thought as she snaps her focus back. 'Must be the effect from using magic too much.'

Then she notices the tail coming back up again. "Oh no you don't!" the blonde shouts, seeing the tail and he gives off a blue glow somehow. He then charges in, jumps extremely high and brought his sword down with force on the said machine. It loses it sensor and a rifle on that attack.

'Damn that's a Limit Break! And the glow is just like in the movie!' she thought and looks at Cloud as he jumps away from the sparking machine… Yet the head is sparking, the tail is still up and is ready to fire on them. "Oh shoot." he swore.

Then something plays in Riley's mind, a scene of her and Mira's first encounter with a Custom Sweeper when they are heading for Midgar. That scene continues to play in her mind, it the scene suddenly changes and shows a different type yet same technique of that… and it dawns to her.

"Matra…" she stated, drawing her hands back as she concentrates on the magic she saw. A light bluish-purple glow from her hand and she feels the energy building up in it. "Magic!" she shouts and casts about seven of missile-like light projectiles and hit's the machine right on. Both men's jaws drop on seeing that kind of magic and looks at the machine, which sparks and exploded on some parts before it slumps on the floor, deactivated.

"Wow it didn't explode… I guess I didn't hit the tanks or something." Riley quips, scratching her head as she wonders about Shinra's machinery and it's parts.

"That is quite a magic you got there, girl." Barret stated, still looking at the broken-down machine.

"Yeah, do you- Hey!" Cloud yelped, when he saw Riley immediately climbing up the ladder. "What-"

"Bomb ticking, praise later!" she cuts him off as Mira helps her up. Like being hit by a fat chocobo, the two men remembers about the bomb and they also made a mad dash after Riley and her friend.

**:::^*^:::**

"_My child…"_

"_Mother…?"_

"_Come here…"_

"_Is… it really you?"_

"_Yes, my little one, I'm here."_

"_Mother!"_

"_My dear one, forgive me for leaving you alone but those… who have risen up against me, took you away from my side."_

"_Don't worry, Mother, we'll take back what is ours."_

"_Yes… we shall but…"_

"_But…?"_

"_There is also something else taken away from me… And no matter what, I want to have what is mine back."_

* * *

><p>Silver: Uh oh… looks like the creepy lady has awaken… and apparently is not happy with her current situation. Moving on, the meeting of Aerith nears and the next mission! I sorry if this is late, apparently my brother does not know the term of personal space… just read and review to make me happy.<p> 


	6. Blooming Crisis

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird does not own Final Fantasy 7, only her OCs… Otherwise, we might end up having a not-so-epic battle with the lawsuits.)

_**Altering Rhythm**_

_**Blooming Crisis**_

Silver: Once they boot themselves out of the reactor, they meet the flower girl. And they officially runs into a problem.

* * *

><p><strong>Blooming Crisis<strong>

Normally, this is the very thing would anyone see in a movie or an action series.

Normally, this is a scene from an action game.

Normally, they would watch all of these in the comfort of their own couch with comfort food and sodas on the side.

… But Mira and Riley did not expect to experience all of this in real-life, and right now they are seriously getting the hell out before the bomb blows.

Getting up, Riley and Mira helps Jessie on her stuck foot, then quickly chase after Cloud and Barret who went ahead of them. Climbing the ladder and jumping the ledge, they darts out of the door and going up the stairs. As they do, Riley casts some Bolts and Mira plays her keytar on some security bots and they did not bother looting them as they reach the elevator. They skids right in and collapse on Cloud when they try to stop, as Jessie gets in, Riley is able to get out of the pile and press the up button.

After the brunette mime helps the two up, the elevator stops and Jessie is the first one to get out to decipher the door. Once she got it open, they all file in the next room and Biggs is next to open the door. Once that is open too, the entire groups bolted towards the exit where Wedge is waving at them. The rebel lady tries to speed up but lost her balance and trips over, both Riley and Mira helps her up as Cloud starts toward the door with the three females behind. Electric crackles and dances angrily around the reactor as they darts for the door, and once they are all in…

Everything goes boom.

Both Mira and Riley felt the building shakes and a few rubbles fell around, then… everything stops and calms down moments later. The two takes a breather as Cloud leans on the wall and Jessie is setting up the other bomb for the door.

"That should keep the planet going… at least a little longer" Biggs stated.

"Yeah…" Wedge replied.

Both girls look at one another and thought of the same thing… the group did not know that they cause more damage than just blowing up a reactor. But they didn't bother saying it because this is necessary so Cloud could meet Aerith.

"OK! Now everyone get back!" Jessie warn them and everyone heads to one corner of the hall. Then there is a explosion which is smaller but strong enough to push the lock door away, and they all jump out of it. Everyone did well on getting out except for Wedge who got a bit of fire on his pants, and Mira who got a little issue on the fire.

"Just jump and don't mind the heat!" her best friend hissed as she encourages the songstress.

"But!" she protested.

"Come on! We won't be able to "get our answers" if you don't get over with that silly fear of yours!" the brunette hissed.

Looking at the only exit and the flame, the songstress held her breath and jumps out. She rolls on the ground similar to what Cloud did, except she lays flat on the ground as Riley follows behind. As Jessie helps Mira up…

"All right, now let's get out of here." as the groups looks at him. "Rendezvous at Sector 8 Station! Split up and get on the train!"

They then run off, leaving Mira, Riley and Cloud behind. "H-hey!" the blonde protested.

"If it's about your money, save it 'til we're back at the hideout." the black man state gruffly and left for train, as the Ex-SOLDIER looks a little.

"Patience is a virtue, Cloud." Mira stated as she pats him on the shoulder and he looks at her, seeing a small smile on her face. Both girls knew that Cloud rushes the whole thing on chasing Sephiroth when they first played the game, this is around the time they did not have any optional characters and ignored the side quests. After that, they played a new game and got the optional character, Yuffie and some side quests, which made the game a little easy… if it weren't for the fact that the Safer Sephiroth tends to be one step ahead in power levels…

It seems Square Enix created that bug just in case the player uses Game Shark codes or cheated.

Back to the situation, the blonde sighs at this and he motions them to follow him.

**:::^*^:::**

It is very chaotic.

Any normal gamer would shrugs this off since it is part of the storyline of the game, but to be in it and experiencing the result… the two starts to feel the guilt but it is needed to trigger the meeting.

As they head down the streets, the girls couldn't help to be girl scouts and helps those who are in need such as a lost child or a trapped senior. Of course, they drag Cloud in this, much to his annoyance. Once they made sure the citizens are safe and kids are with their parents, they got into…

"It's the LOVELESS Avenue." Mira whispered to the brunette and they notices a young woman dusting off her dress. They immediately recognizes who it is, and it is hard not to since she is wearing her signature pink dress which Zack recommended to her.

It is Aerith…

"Excuse me." She nears them, more specifically to Cloud. "What happened?"

"… Nothing… hey listen… Don't see many flowers around here." he stated.

"Oh, these? Do you like them? They're only a gil." she replied.

"… I guess I'll take one." Then looks back as his companions. "… Make it three."

"Oh! Thank you!" as he takes out three gils from his pockets. "Is it for them?"

"… Yeah, and for a… friend." he stated as the two stares at him.

Both Mira and Riley knew that in the storyline that Cloud only bought one flower and either gives it to Tifa or Marlene… but they never expect him buying a flower for each of them!

'Dang, I think our presence here just made a slight change here.' they thought at the same time. Once Cloud got his flower, Aerith give the other two to them… only to stares at the two, nearly dropping the flower she is about to hand out. The flower girl slowly gives them the flowers and is quiet on all this.

"… Consider those as a thank you on helping me…" he stated and stores his flower in his small pack.

"Um... You're welcome?" the songstress awkwardly replied.

"Yeah… well, I'm not much of a flower fan like Mira." Riley stated as she tuck her flower on her ears. "But I appreciate it, and your welcome." and then she turns to the flower girl who is just standing there. "Hey, mind if I buy a few flowers?"

Aerith snaps out of her reverie and both girls seems to notice this, it was odd to see her lost in thought. Once the mime bought about ten flowers, she then walks away briskly as they head off to he station.

"Hey… is your flower have more color than mine?"

**:::^*^:::**

Running down the fountain area and into an intersection when…

"Hey! You there!" a voice shouts and the two girls does not bother turning, grabs Cloud by the arms and drags him away before he could turn to see who it is.

"H-hey!" the blonde shouts at them.

"Keep moving!" Mira yelps, as gunshots are sprayed on their feet as they turns right, only to turn back and head left on seeing the trooper are also there. But there are troopers too and the three finds themselves surrounded.

"That is far as all of you go." one of the troopers stated, as the three hears the train coming behind them.

"I don't have time to be messing around with you guys." Cloud stated as he backs up to the wall and the two girls does the same.

"Enough babbling! Get them!" the trooper shouts and they are about to dive in on them… when the three climbs on the wall, causing the troopers' heads to collide with the cement. Then the trains comes under them and they all jump on it. Cloud is able to balance himself and keeps it steady, Riley landed roughly and fell flat on her behind… Mira, on the other hand, is not that lucky…

She manages to land on the train but she rolls back, then fell to the side, and clings on the pipes of the moving train.

"Mira!" Riley shouts in alert and rushes to her best friend's aid. The blonde swordsman turns to see them in trouble and he too went to their side, with his SOLDIER's strength he is able to lift her back to the top.

"T-thanks…" Mira stutters as she pants a bit as she lay down for a moment on the roof. However, he pulls her up and motions them to follow him since it is not a good idea to ride the train on the roof.

**:::^*^:::**

In the cargo section of the train, are all of the AVALANCHE members… and there is a down atmosphere surrounding them.

"Cloud and the girls… never came." Wedge said in a sad tone.

"Do you think… they're killed." Biggs asked.

"Hell no!" Barret shouts causing him to shut up.

"Everyone…" Jessie whispered.

Then they look up then they hear some bumps above.

**:::^*^:::**

"Crikey! That hurts!" Riley swears on that one as her friend and Cloud manages to avoid the sign. She rubs her sore forehead and hisses in pain on touching them.

"Hey, be thankful that it didn't knock you out or worse… beheaded!" her friend just carefully crawls to the cargo section of the train.

"C'mon, we're just a few steps from the cargo." Cloud stated as he walks towards it.

"Easy for you to say! Not all of us have enhancement!" the songstress retorted and is crawling to the next section with Riley following behind…

Then…

"Cloud! Look out!" Riley yells but came too late when the sign came and hits right on him as the two lays down.

"Ahhh…!" as he was rolled back and nearly landed on the girls, if they didn't scoot aside.

"Geez, are you okay?" the brunette asked and he glares on her. "Sorry standard question, but seriously, crawling is the new way on getting across without getting smack on the face."

"Ha, ha, laugh it up."

"Hey, do you think it's easy to keep my scarf down?"

"Hey!" Mira called and waves at them, then points at the door. They then made their way to the door, with Mira acting as a signal of when to duck an incoming sign. Once they reach the door, he opens it and flips in like he goes in the game, while Riley just jumps in and lands on her feet. But Mira lands on her rear since she let go of the pipe too early.

"CLOUD! MIRA! RILEY!" everyone shouts in happiness and relief, except for Barret.

"Looks like I'm a little late." Cloud quips, as the brunette helps her best friend.

"Hey, you didn't check the schedule of the train y'know!" both Mira and Riley jokes in unison, causing Cloud and the group to look at them. "Oi! Don't look at us!" they snap in unison then looks at one another. "Stop copying me!" they twin at each other.

"Hey! Waltzing in here and making a big scene!" the AVALANCHE leaders yelled at the three.

"It's no big deal, just what I always do." the blonde stated smugly and made the two girls stare at him before they answer back.

"Hey, we're just the-" the songstress stated.

"- humor to lighten up the mood." the mime followed.

"Duh?" they then said in unison again, as the group looks at them again.

"Shit, you three made everyone worried like that and all of you don't give a damn 'bout no one but yourselves." Barret shouts at them.

"Hmmm… you were worried about us!" the blonde teased and the huge black man is taken aback as the two girls giggled away.

'Honestly… out of all the action, it's good to have something to make everyone smile.' Riley thought, as Barret got annoyed and went into the next cart. Wedge and Biggs tells them that they are glad that they are okay before heading into the next cab. Then Jessie closes the door and notice that both Cloud and Riley have soot on their faces, while Mira only have a spot of it on her right cheek. The brunette rebel cleans their faces with a spare cloth she have and once their faces are soot free, she thank them and heads to the next cab.

**:::^*^:::**

Getting into the next cab, the three are able to witness Barret scaring off the passengers and they fled to the next cab.

As the announcement came, both girls take their seat opposite from Barret's as Cloud is called by Jessie by the front. Then the alarm went off making Mira slide off her seat and swears a little bit, as Riley got startle at it.

"Don't worry girls, the IDs ya all got is going to make it alright." Barret said lightly as he laughs at their surprise. Once Mira gets back on her seat, the alarm stops and everything calms down. After Cloud's short chat with Jessie…

"Look…you can see the surface now. This city don't have no day or night. If that plate weren't there…we could see the sky." the black man said as the blonde passes by and he takes a look on the window near his client.

"A floating city... Pretty unsettling scenery." he replied.

"Huh? Never expect ta hear that outta someone like you. …you jes' full of surprise." Barret said and looks at him, then he stands, moves around and continues. "The upper world…a city on a plate… It's 'cuz of that #$*&#' pizza', that people underneath are sufferin'! And the city below is full of polluted air. On topa that, the Reactor keeps drainin' up all the energy."

"Then why doesn't everyone move onto the Plate?"

"Dunno. Probably 'cuz they ain't got no money. Or, maybe… 'Cuz they love their land, no matter how polluted it gets."

"I know…no one lives in the slums because they want to. It's like this train. It can't run anywhere except where its rails take it." as he looks outside.

Both girls look at each other and denies that silently, the track can be change when one got a strong will and a lot of guts to screw fate on the face. Like what Auron said in FFX and Kingdom Hearts 2, it's his story and he decides what the ending will be.

And like Zack, he decided to protect Cloud till the end… his decision alone.

"By the way, that magic…" he turns to Riley. "Is that an Enemy Skill?"

"Yeah, me and Mira crossed a Custom Sweeper once… never again…" she mutters the last part as he sits down. In her mind, she is thankful that he didn't bother to ask if she got an Enemy Skill Materia… since she doesn't and her Job Class is the Mime. Her job is to watch and copy the skill from… others… 'Friggin skrits! JENOVA can also copy anyone's skills…!'

"I see…" he stated and leans back on his chair. "And how did you know that the Guard Scorpion got a laser on it's tail?

"We were in Junon once." she quickly snaps back and explains. "We both saw it outside, shooting some target with some engineers and researchers scribbling on their notes." Thankfully, he accepted that and they are able to relax. They are very thankful on Zack's encounter with the prototype Scorpion in Junon… back to the point, the brunette begins panicking on her ability to mime others.

"By the way, what is your hometown like?" Wedge asked, looking at the girls.

"Compare here, the air is more cleaner in Banora." Mira explains. "Plus that's the only place where you can find Dumbapples."

"A what?" the trio asked and looks at her weirdly, even Cloud as she laughs lightly.

"Alright, let me explain." the songstress stated, as she makes up a tale of the said village and compares it to the regular apples… if there are any in this world.

**:::^*^:::**

Arriving back, they all got out and huddled near the lamp post. "This mission was a success. But don't get lazy now. The hard part's still to come! Don't y'all be scared of that explosion! 'Cause the next one's gonna be bigger than that! Meet back at the hideout! Move out!" Barret orders, and everyone runs all the way back to Seventh Heaven. There Cloud, Mira and Riley lag behind to see Barret kicking everyone out and threatening them with their gun arm, as Tifa runs out and apologizing to her customers with a few bows before heading back in.

Once the people around are far enough, they walk back to the bar and the AVALANCHE leader allows them in…

But on entering…

"PAPA!" a little girl in a pink dress shouts excitedly and jumps from the counter, only to be embarrass on seeing a different man and runs to one corner of the bar to hide. As the blonde looks quite baffled on her exclamation.

Seeing this, Tifa quickly went to her. "Marlene! Aren't you going to say anything to Cloud?" she asked her in a motherly tone, which made the two look at each other.

'No wonder, every fan fic portrays her as a mother.' they both thought.

"Welcome, Cloud. Looks like everything went well. Did you fight with Barret?" she asked.

"Yeah." he replied.

"I should have known. He's always pushing people around, and you've always been in fights ever since you were little. I was worried…" then she notices something. "Flowers? How nice…You almost never see them here in the slums. But… A flower for me? Oh Cloud, you shouldn't have…"

"No big." as he gives it to her.

"Thank you, Cloud. It smells wonderful." she said as she sniffs the wonderful fragrance and turns to her counter. "Maybe I should fill the store with flowers."

"Well, you better start now, cause I also got a bunch of them." Riley quips and pulls out a bouquet of flowers which surprises the bar maid.

"My goodness! That's a lot!" she gasps as the brunette hands them over her. "But is it-?"

"I'm cool, I'm not much of a flower fan like Mira does." the mime quips and points at her friend as he sighs at the side. And she takes one flower from the bouquet and gives it to Marlene since she caught the young girl looking at it. The little girl shyly takes it and thank her as she hides behind Tifa.

"You really enjoy calling me a flower fan." the songstress deadpan and stares at her best friend.

"That's what best friends are for." replying with a wink then turns around and is about to head out. "Mind if I go to the Wall Market? I just manage to loot that huge thing some gears, might at well sell them to the Junk Shop."

"Oh! The gate is close today!" Tifa noted.

"Well skrits… might as well take a walk instead to get rid of the adrenaline. Be back in a few!" And she left. Barret saw her and she excuse herself by selling the junk she looted in their mission, so he lets her go but reminds her of the next mission for tomorrow.

As she walks… she caught something white in the ground and picks it up. Looking at it, it's a card and then pockets it before continuing her way.

**:::^*^:::**

Barret enters the bar, and the three stands straight while Cloud sits on the table and Mira still remains on the stool. He then notices Tifa is decorating the counter with flowers and his daughter have one on her ears. He asked where they got them and Marlene told him that they got it from Cloud and Riley. He asked if he thank the one who gave that flower to her, and she nodded.

"Right." he said and looks at his group. "Get in here, fools! We're startin' the meetin'!" and walks to the pinball machine, pressing the button to go down. Biggs, Wedge and Jessie immediately follows, and the machine goes up after that.

Cloud went to the pinball and presses the button, down to an elevator goes and Mira follows after as she gives Tifa a friendly wave. This time she is able to land in the hidden basement in a crouching position, but she winces at the pressure that strain her calves and knees.

"Yo, Cloud!" Barret called, as Mira supports herself with a wall and is wincing a bit on her landing. "There's somethin' I wanna ask ya. Was there anyone from SOLDIER fighting us today?"

The blonde thought for a moment before answering. "None. I'm positive." he stated flatly.

"You sound pretty sure." and the songstress knows where this will go as she stands near the TV.

"If there was anyone from SOLDIER you wouldn't be standing here now."

"Don't go thinkin' you so bad jes 'cuz you was in SOLDIER." But Cloud remains silent as Biggs holds Barret back, only to be thrown to the corner upper wall, sides down it and in pain. Yeah, you're strong. Probably all them guys in SOLDIER are. But don't forget that your skinny ass's workin' for AVALANCHE now! Don't get no ideas 'bout hangin' with Shinra!" the AVALANCHE leader shouts.

"Stayin' with Shinra?" now it is the blonde's turn to be annoyed. "You asked me a question and I answered it…that's all. I'm going upstairs. I want to talk about my money."

As he is about to leave, Tifa came down from the elevator and jumps to his side. "Wait, Cloud!" she yelps.

"Tifa! Let him go! Looks like he still misses the Shinra!" Barret stated loudly.

Now Cloud looks quite fed up and turns to look at the black man. "Shut up! I don't care about either Shinra or SOLDIER! But don't get me wrong! I don't care about AVALANCHE or the Planet for that matter!" he exclaims and goes up. And it wasn't long before Tifa goes after him.

"Barret…" Mira called and the black man turns at her. "That was very mean."

"Not my problem." he said with a shrug and looks at her. "What? You're likin' him."

"No." she stated quickly. "But I heard that there were once four First Class SOLDIERs and they all… were declared MIA or missing-in-action."

"Yeah so?"

"I also heard a rumor that Shinra sent a platoon of troopers to gun down a rogue 1st Class." she added in. "The driver of the truck, who pitch a ride for him, said that the rogue decided to fight for his freedom rather than being a prisoner as he sped off for safety."

Everyone is silent and Mira does not lie… Shinra did sent a platoon of troopers just to get rid of Zack, because he knows too much and they fear that he might go after them.

"Is that rogue Cloud?" Jessie asked.

"No, the driver said the rogue got black hair." the songstress replied.

"Then what happen to him?" Wedge asked.

"… From what is left of the platoon, only three are able to kill the rogue since they are able to tire him out."

"So then…?" Biggs started.

"Yeah, it might be possible that they will go after him, once they realizes he managed to get away."

Silence reign in the base before Barret decided to go after the blonde to give his money. The songstress smiled a little on this and lean on the wall with an ease feeling.

"Hey…" Wedge called and she looks at him. "Is it true? That Shinra do that on their own people?"

"If you can't keep a secret, they'll bribe you to be silent or literally they'll make you one." she stated as he gulps. Which is true… till Rufus takes over and tries to rule all of the people with an iron first and fear.

Once the elevator went down with Cloud on it, Mira takes it to go up and waits for her best friend.

**:::^*^:::**

Hiding in the shadows of their temporary hiding spot, Riley checks her files and some few notes on her phone, that would be helpful on their aim to change the course of the people's fate. After she have a slight panic on her Job Class, she remembers that JENOVA can inject viruses and have a power on illusions. And her mime ability have limits which calms her a bit, when…

"Oh snap!" she shrieks and runs all the way to the bar to find her best friend. She bust in the place, nearly causing Tifa to drop the glass she is wiping and Mira to fall off her seat.

"Riley! Is there something?" the bar maid asked, still a little shock from the sudden entrance.

"Sorry! Butit'sabestfriendthing! SosorryandI'llbetakingMiranow! Bye!" the mime said it so fast as she grabs the songstress and the ravenette yelps as she gets drag away by her best friend… leaving Tifa quite stupefied.

"What is it?" the songstress demanded as they reached their spot and she faces the troubled brunette.

"I just freakin' learned that Banora was once a site for Shinra's Mako Mining! They have records!" Riley blurts it out.

"Wait, what!" and the ravenette looks surprise at this.

"Hold on let me explain… first Shinra have interest on Banora because of Mako, but the company loses interest on it and the village was liberated. Then it was used for the JENOVA Project for Project G and, again, a failure but they sent Angeal, his mom and Genesis there with surveillance! SURVEILLANCE!"

"Ack, that's bad!"

"Yeah… and we told them that we came from that place. Dang that is stupid of me!" the mime moves to the wall and bash her head on it, till her friend grabs her away from it.

"No point on crying over a spilled milk!"

"Ugh! Right, right! It is just so crap that the company is such a stalker."

"Hey, when they got the money and the gun, they don't care about morality."

"Argh… I don't know whose worse, Umbrella or Shinra."

"Oi, since Shinra combined politics and business, I think they are much more worse."

"Brrr…! Yeah, that scares me… got any idea?"

The songstress begins to think, trying to find a way to get rid of those records or something and only one came into her mind. "… Just one." she stated.

"What is it?" the mime asked, the ravenette then explains the plan to her and once she finishes. "Oookay… sound like a James Bond or a Bourne mission, but since we're desperate, let's do it."

* * *

><p>Silver: Yipes, looks like I made a boo-boo here… Seriously! Are their any townsvillages without having Shinra breathing on them? I just read a Crisis Core Ultimania… and I just learn that place also serves for research for Shinra, then I played Crisis Core again to find the said abandon labs…Whoopsie! Seems like they got another problem aside from the pillar. Read and review!.


	7. Solo Concerto

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird does not own Final Fantasy 7, only her OCs… Otherwise, we might end up having a not-so-epic battle with the lawsuits.)

_**Altering Rhythm**_

_**Solo Concerto**_

Silver: Time to split up! Since we got two, you got two different side stories. First up, Mira!

* * *

><p><strong>Solo Concerto<strong>

The next day, both girls gets up early and goes a bit of morning routine such as Riley jogging and Mira playing music and singing a bit. It's pretty much a habit to them… then…

"Ack! Riley!" the songstress yelps as a clock appears below her best friend, it's hands speeds up, she suddenly glows and… she speeds away more faster than she use to.

That is also the time Mira accidentally learns the Haste spell, which partly weirds her out since this ability is a Dance and not Sing… she then just shrugs it off since they are in FF7 and not in FFX-2, so probably things are a bit different for her and Riley's Job Class.

Once the ravenette helps her nurse the bruises she received from crashing into some junk and apologizing on that, they head to the bar. On arriving there…

"Shi…! What's this? It wasn't that tough! 'Crap! I'm clueless… Well, you handle the Materia then!" they heard Barret complain as he gets a bit confuse with Cloud's explanation on materias.

"I'm going this time!" Tifa announces and the girls both knew that will happen… but they didn't expect… "Riley, can you watch Marlene and the store while we're gone?" she asked the mime.

"O-wait, what?" Riley replied, looking baffled as Mira stares at her and Tifa. "Not Mira?" she asked a bit as the songstress gives her a look.

"Her status effect ability is going to be useful in this mission, so I recommended her." the blonde points out and both turns to stare him, Mira is frankly surprise and a bit happy that he recommended her… she thinks.

"Please? Marlene is good on taking care of the bar, she is even good on making drinks but she is still young." the bar maid points out. "Just this once?"

'Then why did you left her in charge in the game at the first place? Or better yet… What the heck did Square thought of letting a 4 year old do an adult job?' the brunette thought as she rubs her forehead on this. "… Fine, but bring me back a souvenir will ya?" she stated.

"Thank you!" the brunette fighter cheered and then she reminds Cloud about the man, who want to give him something, above the Weapon Shop.

"Take care of Marlene, Riley!" the black man stated as he, Cloud and Tifa exit's the bar.

"Be careful now." Riley calls out to her best friend.

"I will." the songstress replied as she walks out of the bar.

**:::^*^:::**

Once Cloud got the item from a man above the weapon shop and bought some bangles from the weapon dealer, he then proceeds on getting more materias for the party. Entering another store…

"Hey." he stated looking at the party. "What kind of materias do you guys need?"

"Hmmm… Fire." Tifa stated.

"Bolt, please." Mira replied, she knew the boss they are going to face here and she wants to have an advantage in this battle. 'Ice and Fire are pretty much ineffective on who we're going to face soon, thankfully I got a Restore materia since the Big Bomber attack is going to be a pain.' she thought, although she is still uneasy with the fire.

"Just give me something that can really hit hard." Barret stated.

He nodded and bought a pair of Fire for himself and Tifa and a Lightning for Barret, he gave his own Lightning to Mira instead and then they head for the train as they equip their new materias. They then heads to the train station and got on the train, inside they meet up with Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge. Barret's anger and presence scared almost all of the passenger to the other car, as the songstress sighs at his misplace aggression.

'Seriously… should I play Lullaby to make you calm down? What's the point of this mission if you act like that?' she thought, she remembers on most actions spy movies to number one rule is to act cool and blend in… not make yourself a suspicious character.

"YO! Looks like this ain't no private car! So split up!" The black man shouts at them.

"...hoodlums again." The man stated and Mira knew that he is the Shinra Manager from the game. "God, don't I just have all the luck…" and he takes a seat then Barret just runs to the door and looks in.

"You say sumthin'? I said, 'you say sumthin'!" he demanded and then walks back. "Yo, look at that! It got empty alluva sudden!" slamming his fist near the manager's seat.

"What's goin' on!" He yelps at the slam and looks up. "DAMN! I…it's empty because of…g, guys like you…" but with one look from the rebel leader almost made him pee on his seat. "Y, Y, YIPES! You…you've seen the news, right? AVALANCHE says there'll be more bombings. Only devoted employees like me would go to Midgar on a day like today." as he curls in his seat, scared on the fact that the man got a gun arm.

"You workin' for Shinra?" the rebel leader demanded and it definitely scared the man off till…

**BAM!**

A rather musical piano-like hit sounded off and both Cloud and Tifa stares at Mira, who used her keytar on hitting the black man's head. "Will you mind and behave!" she sternly stated and looks at her instrument. To her relief, it is quite durable and not a dent in sight and she takes her seat far from the manager.

"#^*$! You lucky #$#*!" Barret shouts at the manager and turns to the songstress, who is placing her keytar down and massages her shoulder. "What the hell is that fer!"

"You need to chill." she stated with a shrug, before she stands and pulls him close. "Besides he might pin you as a bad guy and he'll report you to the authority." she hissed and let him go. "Okay?"

The black man grumbles as Cloud spoke up. "So, what are we gonna do now?"

"Shit! The hell you so calm about?" He asked and turns to him. "You bustin' up my rhythm…"

Then they felt the train jerk and the handles sways above them. "Seems like they just finished connecting the cars, we're finally leaving." Tifa noted.

"So what's our next target?" the blonde asked.

"Hah! Listen to Mr. Serious-about-his-work!" he drawl at him as the blonde merely stares back.

"I'll ask Mira to hit you again." and the ravenette looks at him as if saying 'Oi! Once is enough!'.

"Awright… I'll tell ya! Jessie's probably already told you, but there's a security checkpoint at the top plate. It's an ID scan system checkin' all the trains."

"Which Shinra is very proud of." the martial artist pipes in.

"We can't use our fake ID's anymore…" and the rebel leader noted.

Then the announcement came and announces the time which the train will arrive in Sector 4. "That means we've got only three more minutes to the ID checkpoint." Tifa added.

"EH? But how do we get past the scan?" Mira asked, a bit surprise but knows what is going next.

"In three minutes, we're jumpin' off this train." the AVALANCHE leader stated, which made Mira go 'EH?'. "Oi! Don't go chickenin' out now!"

The songstress sits still as Tifa went to the monitor at the front and motions Cloud to come near. As they look at the monitor, the ravenette's hands feels sweaty as the thought of jumping out of the train. Only Riley is the most athletic one while she is more into performing arts like dancing and singing. Normally, she would protest on letting her best friend take her place instead but she needed to stay behind to find the items they need. As she breathes in and out… she jumps out of her seat and on her feet when the alarms goes off.

"That's odd. The ID CheckPoint was supposed to be further down." Tifa pointed out.

"Type A Security Alert! Unidentified passengers confirmed…" a computerized voice came from the speakers as Mira straps on her equipment.

"What's happening?" the bar maid asked, a bit surprise and panic on the alarm.

'Obviously… someone went a bit overboard with someone's ID.' Mira thought, as she walks back a bit.

"What's goin' on!" the bar maid asked again as Cloud tries to figure out what happen, when Jessie runs back into the cabin they're in.

"We're in trouble, I'll explain later." the brunette rebel said it so fast, as Mira talks to the man who thinks the train is his house and receives a Phoenix Down for talking to him. "Hurry! Get to the next car!"

"*$&%! Someone blew it…" Barret stated in calm fury.

They all boot themselves to the next cab, but then the announcement came about locking the cab they're in. So they didn't stand long and runs all the way to the front car, there they saw their teammates in disguise. Biggs looking like a mafia man, Jessie as a Shirna infantryman and Wedge… as somewhat his younger brother.

'Well… he does look like a little boy like that.' Mira thought as Barret runs to the front

"All right! We made it!" he cheered and moves to the door. "Yo! This way!" he signals the three of them to get there as Jessie opens the door, all three of them runs to where the rebel leader is. "Let's go! We're gonna dive outta here!"

"…Scary…huh?" she whispered to both Cloud and Mira.

"Too late to be saying that now." the blonde deadpans

"To get caught or jump… I would rather jump." the songstress replied but her heart is really beating fast and is panicking mentally. 'I'm sooo not born for this…this is more of Riley's stunts' she thought depressingly.

"I'm with her. Why'd you come along anyway?" he asked. Mira knows he's asking his childhood friend, but she mentally answers to herself that she and Riley are going to protect their smiles… and not let them suffer the guilt like in ACC and DoC.

The bar maid turns around and before she could even answer. "Hey you two! There ain't no time for that!" Barret hollered at the three and they are slightly startled by him. Tifa takes a look of the outside and Mira takes a peek of the speeding scenery and pales at this. Considering the speed and all she might get some bruises on the landing. But one thing that is thankful in her mind is that the train is underground, unlike the train in her place back in their world which is high above the ground.

"Yeah! I've made up my mind!" the martial artist stated and looks at the two. "Watch closely. I'll jump!" And she jumped out of the train with Mira watching intently on how she does it, hoping her technique will be less hurtful. She saw her lands on her feet first before rolling on her side, it seems it spreads the impact when rolling.

'Man… and I thought the roof was worse?' she thought as she looks at the two, squishing her nervousness. "Well… Don't get hit by a sign, Cloudy." she jokes a little and he gives her a look, which made her feel a little better and takes a breath.

She jumps.

Cloud turns to Barret, who's keeping a sharp eye for any creepy things coming. "You don't care if I go first?" he asked.

"A leader always stays till the end. Don't worry 'bout me, just go!" he stated and as the blonde turns to jump. "Yo! Don't go gettin' your spikey-ass hurt! It's only the beginnin' of the mission!" and the Ex- SOLDIER merely shrugs then jumps away. Then Barret walks to the door and looks back to the rest of his team. "Later! You take care of the rest!" he stated and jumps out.

**:::^*^:::**

"Ow, ow, ow…" the songstress winces as she gets up and cast cure on herself. "Thankfully, this stunt is still in my pain tolerance range." she hissed. She doesn't have a strong tolerance like her best friend does, so she can only withstand an average level of pain. She then checks he keytar if it's damage, since she just jumps out of the train. Thankfully, everything is in one piece and a few scratches, she then test the instrument and the sound came out perfectly fine. "Wow, you're incredibly durable…"

Then she notices a part of the covering on the side fell off and she slightly panics on her damaged instrument… only to find something else. "Orchestra Ai… Orchestra Love?" she reads and translated the hidden name plate of the instrument. "Is that what you are called?" she whispered, then she hears her name being called and straps her instrument on. She then stands and jogs to where Cloud and the rest are.

"Mira!" Tifa called and she seems relief on seeing the songstress. "Are you okay?"

"Riding on the roof of the train is one thing I'm fine with." Mira quips. "But jumping out of the train is something I have to get use to… Ow." she winces a bit, there is still a bit of sting left.

"Oh! Are you injured?" she asked.

"Nah, just sore." the songstress half-lied, she just healed herself earlier as she adjust the strap of her instrument.

Once Barret give the group a quick brief, they then followed the tracks and stops in front of security beams blocking their way. As they wonder on how to get pass the beams, Mira finds the hole and she suggest on going down in it. For Barret, it is a small hole but the songstress knew that this is the only way to get into Sector 5. Without their final decision, she jumps in, slides all the way down and lands in crouching position.

'Ha! I still got it!' she thought happily of the slides she used to play in and her different method of landing. It is the only thing she can be proud on since she is physically lacking the exercise, and slides are her favorite part of the playground. She then moves away, so they won't land on her in case they follow. Once she picks the Ether and waits for the others to slide down…

"_Hello…"_

She looks around only to find no one and once more she shrugs it off, as Tifa arrives first, followed by Cloud and then Barret… who somehow got a moment to get himself stuck.

**:::^*^:::**

After getting their rebel leader out, they then proceed on climbing down some ladders and cross the platform. There they find Wedge far from the ladder where Jessie is, he stated to take the long ladder to get to the reactor. Taking his advise, they climb the ladder and crawl under the shaft. When they reach the exit, there they find Jessie and Mira quickly picks up a potion when she sees it. Cloud then wonders which way to go…

"Right." the songstress stated. The view point has change since she and Riley are in the game, everything is in first-person view point and the ladder going to where the reactor is now at the right.

"Huh?" Cloud asked and the others looks at her.

"Should we go right?" she stated it as a question to avoid suspicion from the three.

"OH! I remember, Biggs went there." Jessie noted and the ravenette thank her mentally as Cloud nodded at this.

They take the ladder to the right and climbs down, once they reach the bottom, they saw Biggs near a shaft. Tifa talks to him while Mira grabs the tent on one side and is suddenly ambush by Smoggers. Out of surprise and reflex, she cast Bolt on one of them as she backs away quickly, only to be hit by a Smog which poisons and weaken her.

"Mira!" Tifa shouts and Cloud and Barret quickly darts forward. The blonde made a quick work on the one that poisons her and the black man riddled the other with leads… lots of it. Once the monsters are down for at count, the bar maid helps her up as the ravenette digs in her pouch for a antidote.

'Ugh… it's like you're being cut every ten seconds, good thing Riley and I decided to buy antidotes early.' she thought as she downs the said medicine and gags a little bit. 'And why does anything that heals tastes bad?'

After that incident, Biggs heads back for the hideout and they proceed to the shaft. Once they are out of the shaft, they find themselves in a similar area as of the Reactor 1 except for the light blue lightning around. Mira is first to slide down the pipe, followed by Cloud and the others. And then everything is identical to what the did to the first reactor: climbing down the ladders and pipes, reaching the walkway towards the reactor… then when Cloud is about to plant a bomb…

He got another breakdown.

This time Mira knew his head is playing the scene where Tifa declared her hatred to Shinra, SOLDIERs and everything they do after her father's death. It comes to her mind that she might also counsel her on her hatred of that company… considering it will fall due to their own ignorance and greed. 'That's karma…' she thought as she goes to the blondes side. "Hey, get a hold of yourself!" she snaps and shakes him, causing the blonde to be snap back to reality. "You okay?"

"Tifa?" he called out the fighter's name.

"Cloud, are you okay?" Tifa asked.

"Yeah… it's nothing… Let's just hurry!" he stated as Mira helps him up. The songstress watches the blonde place the bomb with worry.

'Don't hide it… the damage will be even more greater if you don't tell.' she thought, once they set the bomb they quickly bail out of the facility. As they run, Mira decides to get the blonde talking about those dreams and manages to catch his side as they climb the stairs. "Hey, what was that all about?"

"… It's nothing." he stated.

"Nothing my ass." she replied and he looks at her. "What you think Riley is the only colorful one? Back to the point, what happen back there is not a nothing."

"… Just-"

"Cloud." he turns to see her eyes are staring at him with a stern look which could burn if he stare too long. "Keeping it will not make you feel better." she hissed as Tifa is about to catch up. Looking at the bar maid, the songstress can consider her as an obstacle because she too was there when IT happens. And her motherly attitude and inability to voice out the truth, would prevent her on helping the blonde get better and cover everything with sugar-coated words just to keep him safe. 'No one can be safe once the truth is revealed…' she thought.

"… I… I'll tell you once we're back." he whispered but is audible enough for her to hear, it made her smile and started planning her methods on helping Cloud overcome his problem. But she must also be careful, she have slightly ruffled the chocobo's feather on this one.

Both Barret and Mira take down any securities at comes in their way, but she notice the lack of fight as they go. Also the songstress cast Haste both on Cloud and Tifa, to beat other enemies in case they missed. Getting to the elevator, they go up and on arriving on the top floor, they quickly file out and heads to a computer room. The songstress decides to signal the three when they successful opens the door, as they attempt to press the three buttons at the same time. It took them three tries to get it open and as they head for the walkway, Mira checks her equipment, items and her status spells. Although the negative ones will have no effect on a machine, she got Haste for the party and that's an advantage.

**:::^*^:::**

Arriving at the walkway…

"This way!" Barret called and is about to head left, when the troopers arrived. "Shinra troopers? SHIT! What is going on?" he demanded, shock that there are authority in their way as he, Cloud and Mira takes out their weapons.

'… Come to think of it, there should be a time gap on terrorizing.' the songstress thought, thinking of bombing the reactor everyday will definitely leave clues and get themselves caught or killed in the process. 'Very unlike in Earth, make a shocking event, hide for a month or so, and then make another shocking event then hide again… yeah, since we bomb the Reactor 1, there should be an increase of security…' and she mentally smack herself. "DUH!" she yelped.

"What is it?" Tifa asked.

"I think we should've plan better than this." Mira points out in a low volume.

"What do you mean?" the blonde asked, eyes still not straying from the guards.

"When a person destroys one part of your property, what would they do?" she asked.

"Weep on their lost." Barret answers gruffly.

"No! They increase security or place a trap!" She knew Cloud is suppose to say his line about the trap, but it just slip out of her mouth. Then they hear someone clapping and they turn to see a rather fat man, bald on the top and wears a red expensive suit.

"My, what a smart little girl we have here." the man stated.

"Presi-president Shinra?" the black man stated in surprise and Tifa gasped on seeing him.

"It's common sense, ya prick." the songstress snaps at the president.

"Why is the President here?" the bar maid asked.

"Hmm… So you all must be that... What was it?" the man said, pretending he forgot the name of the group.

"AVALANCHE! And don't ya forget it!" The AVALANCHE leader shouts at him with a shaking fist. He really wants to fill the prick with lead, so he could end this when the blonde moves to the front.

"Long time no see, President." he stated calmly.

"…Long time no see? Oh…you. You're the one who quit SOLDIER and joined AVALANCHE." the president said and gets a good look on the blonde. "I knew you'd been exposed to Mako, from the look in your eyes… Tell me, traitor, what was your name?"

"Cloud."

"Forgive me for asking, but I can't be expected to remember each person's name. Unless you become another Sephiroth. Yes, Sephiroth… He was brilliant. Perhaps too brilliant…"

'And you are a moron for permitting the JENOVA project and Sephiroth's lack of humanity. Seriously… you think people are playthings?' Mira thought angrily as she settles on glaring at him, she couldn't risk her cover being blown… it's enough that they made a mistake with Banora right now.

"Sephiroth…?" Cloud said faintly till the AVALANCHE leader cuts in.

"Don't give a damn 'bout none of that! This place's goin' up with a big BANG soon! Serves y'all right!" he yelled at him and moves in front of Cloud, as if he want to rub the fact that the president will loose another reactor.

"…And such a waste of good fireworks, just to get rid of vermin like you…" the president stated in a bored tone, and looking like he is losing interest of this situation.

"VERMIN! That's all you can say…VERMIN! Y'all Shinra're the VERMIN, killing the planet! And that makes you King VERMIN! So shu'up jackass!" Barret yelled at him with much anger.

"…You are beginning to bore me. I'm a very busy man, so if you'll excuse me…I have a dinner I must attend."

"Dinner! Don't gimme that! I ain't even start wit' you yet!"

"But I've made arrangements for a playmate for you all." he stated and on cue, they hears a noise similar to a helicopter.

"What's that noise?" Tifa asked as Barret jogs to her side.

"The hell is this?" the black man shouts. Then they move to the side, with Cloud and Mira avoiding it by moving to another walkway when a huge robot came. Taking a good look of it, the songstress thought of the Knightmare in Code Geass… only with a smaller head, broader shoulders, a cannon and weird pot-like thing at back, a furnace-like thing on the chest, the half-sphere shoulder protectors and the rotors beneath it giving the thing a hover capability.

'Speaking of Code Geass, time to go like Zero.' Mira thought as she readies her Orchestra Ai and stands ready for a fight.

"Meet 'Airbuster', a techno-soldier. Our Weapon Development Department created him. I'm sure the data he'll extract from your dead bodies will be of great use to us in future experiments." the president said with slight amusement.

"…Techno-soldier?" Cloud asked, then they hears another but loud rotor engines and they turn to see a helicopter comes out from below.

"Now then, if you'll excuse me." The president then boarded the chopper.

"Wait, President!" Cloud called, but it is two late as it flies away and the Airbuster begins charging at the other two.

"Yo, Cloud! We've gotta do somethin' 'bout him!" Barret yelps as he avoids being hit and points his gun arm at him.

"Help, Cloud!" Tifa yelps as she retreats back and both Cloud and Mira surrounds the machine. "THIS is from SOLDIER?"

'Oi… this is from the Weapon Development Department.' the songstress sighs, which is true… anything mechanical and weaponry came from there, while men, troopers and SOLDIERs came from the Public Safety Maintenance Department. 'Aye that greedy pig, does not even bother…' then she looks back to see the guards are gone. 'Seriously… they made have the technology and the money, but they lack the common sense, side plans and some tactics… morons. Do they think a robot would secure our deaths? Okay… maybe to normal people like me and Riley was in Earth are doom this kind of whack-out situation, but here…'

"No way! It's just a machine." the blonde stated and prepares for battle.

"I don't care what it is! I'm gonna bust him up!" Barret shouts and attacks the robot. However, on attacking it, it counters with ramming back at him. Tifa also attacks but it wasn't effective and Mira quickly attacks the machine before it rams on the fighter.

"Bolt!" she cast a steady stream of electricity at the back, which staggers the robot for a moment and then it turns to ram at her. "Gah!" she yelps as she fell on her rear.

"Are you okay?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah… I got an idea." she stated as she get up. "We're attacking this on both sides, right? One of us should act as a bait, the other heals while the other two strikes this thing down in the back."

"Will that work?" Cloud asked.

"Hitting that thing by the back is far more efficient than the front, so who got a Restore Materia aside from me?" she asked. Approving at the plan, the blonde relays it to the other two and Tifa got the other Restore. So they fight the robot in a sequence, Tifa and Barret would attack the robot as Mira heals Cloud or herself if low in health, and then Cloud and Mira attacks as Tifa heals Barret or herself. The robot uses it's Big Bomb on either Cloud and Barret, Mira seems to avoid it by getting really far from it once it was launched. When it runs out, it uses the Energy Ball instead. This went in a good pace as…

"Ugh…" Mira groans as she was hit by an Energy ball and her keytar begins to glow white. "Huh?" she looks at it and hears a music… a fast-paced music solo which sounds more of an electric guitar and a voice telling her the name of it. Then snapping back to reality she notices that she too is glowing. "Wha?" she utters and thought. 'Is this how the limit breaks go?' she thought and looks at Cloud who's glowing blue.

It gives her an idea. "Hey!" she called him and he looks at him. "Let's strike it down!"

He smiled and nodded and charges at the Airbuster, he attack the robots back with Braver then he hears a fast-pace guitar solo. He turn to see Mira rapidly playing the keytar rapidly and the speaker on one end is glowing, he quickly backs off. "Sonic Presto!" she shouts and 25 small light, distorted bullet-like projectiles came out of the speaker, in rapid succession like a machine gun and hits the robot. And then… the thing starts sparking up.

"Yes!" she cheers then remembers the scene. 'Oh…' she thought and backs away before it.

**BOOM!**

She got flung back at the explosion and lands roughly on her back on the walkway, she winces in pain as she gets up to see… him falling. "CLOUD!" Tifa shouts and knees at the edge of the blasted bridge.

"It's gonna blow!" Barret shouts, as he realize the bomb is about to go off. "Let's go, Tifa!"

"Barret! Can't you do something? Where's Mira?" She asked, as the songstress push herself to get up and runs to the edge. There the bar maid saw her and her looks is both relief and pleading, the black man is also relief to see her okay but is worried on the bomb. Looking down, she saw Cloud hanging on a broken pipe and is hanging on.

She knew that this is the part where he falls and meets Aerith, she would let it happen because it is the important part… But she can't stand like a foot stool and do nothing, Tifa and Barret are there asking for her to help him. If she helps him, he will not be able to meet Aerith, but if she don't, she would end up breaking the fragile trust she and her friend made with them.

So…

She kneels down and tries to reach him.

"Hurry Mira….!" Tifa pleads, as Mira lays flat on the floor and tries to reach him. But no matter how much she stretch her arm, she couldn't reach him but their looks are still on her.

"Crap! Cloud try lifting up a little!" the songstress shouts and the blonde nodded. He lifts himself and attempts on reaching for her hand… Tifa nearly shrieks out of fright and Barret freezes on his spot, when the pipe almost gave and lowers the blonde a bit further to his drop.

"Cloud! Please don't die! You can't die! There's still so much I want to tell you!" the bar maid shouts frantically as Mira gets up and takes her keytar, taking something from it.

"I know, Tifa…" he said, then he feels something on his face and saw… a strap?

"Hurry! Grab it!" the songstress shouts as she wraps her leg around the railings, the strap she taken from her instrument and tied it on one of her arm. This earns her a cheer from the two, but she is mentally wishing for the bomb to explode right now. It's force is enough to shake his hold and fall. Cloud grabs the strap as the pipe gave way and Mira yelps at the sudden weight. She tries lifting him up but she is not that strong… dragging him to a corner is one thing back at the station, and trying to lift a guy from his pit fall of doom is another. Plus is it difficult to get him up with that Buster Sword of his. If Riley were the one to go with them, she might have a better chance on lifting a guy till he gets to lift himself to safety.

"Crud…! He's heavy! Barret! When will the bomb go off?" the ravenette shouts at the rebel leader.

"It won't be long now!" he shouts back.

"… Worry about yourselves! I'm alright but take care of Tifa!" Cloud shouts.

"… Alright. Sorry about this." the black man stated.

"Hey! Don't go dying yet! You're a friggin' SOLDIER! First Class even!" Mira shouts as she tries pulling him back, only to strain her arms more. '… I'm starting to know why I was chosen to remain with this group now.' she thought.

"Cloud! Please!" the martial artist cried and looks at the songstress. "Mira! Hurry!"

"Stop talking like this is the end!" the blonde shouts and glares at his rescuer. Her eyes widen to see his eyes burning with confidence, which tells him that he'll be all right. Closing her eyes and then looking back.

"If you get lost, I'll look for you okay?" she said in a gentle tone and he nodded. "Make sure you survive this." and she knew he will.

"Yeah… Later?" he asked.

She nodded. "Later."

Then the reactor explodes, the shockwaves knocks his grip off the strap and he falls. Tifa cried out for Cloud once more as Mira keeps herself down to avoid the flames.

**:::^*^:::**

Getting back to Sector 7 is the most quietest trip she ever had.

After Barret helped her on crossing the broken bridge, which is by throwing one end of the strap for him to grab and a daring jump from her and a pull from him. They then slink into the shadows as they head for the station, Mira have to comfort Tifa all the way as Barret leads the way. Once getting on the train, Mira checks on her strap, finds it is stretch a bit then attaches it back on her keytar. She made a mental note of finding a new strap, just in case it breaks as the train continue on it's way.

Once arriving in Sector 7, the songstress immediately gets out of it and is about to dash for the gates.

"Hey! Where do ya think yer goin?" Barret shouts as he and Tifa gets out of the train.

"I'm going to Sector 5!" she shouts.

"But-" and the ravenette cuts the bar maid off.

"He's SOLDIER! First Class! I bet he's been in many more nasty things than a fall!" she replied and darts away before either of them could utter a word.

* * *

><p>Silver: Yeah… Cloud still need to fall in this, it's important for him and Aerith to meet. Next up, Riley's side story and for a bonus a short profile of Mira.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Mira Calliope<strong>

Age: 19

Eyes: Green

Hair: Black, a slightly short bob with a long tail

Weapon: Orchestra Ai (A keytar capable of using sound waves as arsenals and magic.)

Personality: Mira is active, witty, friendly and compassionate off stage and confident, energetic and sassy on stage. More into music and entertainment, she is not that athletic as Riley and the only stunt she can pull (and be proud of) is landing on her two feet after a slide. She gets negative when she sees something wrong or do thing beyond her ability, but she kept it in except to Riley whom she trust. She have a sense of morality, since she came from a religious family and has a capacity to forgive others who are willing to change for the better and keep it. However, in landing in FFVII, she tries to be the same and at the same time she and Riley keeps their foreign origin a secret, as they attempt to change Cloud and the others fates.

* * *

><p>Silver: Read and review.<p> 


	8. Deviate Play

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird does not own Final Fantasy 7, only her OCs… Otherwise, we might end up having a not-so-epic battle with the lawsuits.)

_**Altering Rhythm**_

_**Deviate Play**_

Silver: Ummm… I made a little boo-boo on one of Mira's personality, Riley is supposed to be the one who is hyper while she is just active. I manage to edit it and speaking of the mime, here's her side of the story! Also, a bit of warning on a vulgar word since it is the name of the drink.

* * *

><p><strong>Deviate Play<strong>

Once her best friend left with the others for the Reactor 5 mission, she sighs… but she didn't mind and got what she wanted.

"I'm sorry." Marlene voice out and the brunette turns to see the little girl, just barely visible from the counter… somehow, she feeling like she wants to introduce Children's Rights to Tifa and Barret once they change the fate of Sector 7.

"Nah… it's fine, I'm used to baby-sit anyway." which is true on her part, but one difference is that she is more used on watching rowdy kids. Marlene is not, so very much she still have some freedom to execute their plans. "Well, I'll head down the basement for a while, call me when I'm needed, okay?"

"Okay!" the little girl pipes up and the mime heads to the pinball machine, pressing the down button. Arriving in there, she steps off and the machine lifts back to it's place.

"Okay… time for the ultimate scavenger hunt!" she said cheerily and began checking out the basement. In the crates, there she finds quite a lot of C4 explosives and timers which made her smile. Still it made her wonder on how these explosives exist in this world, but she's not complaining. Taking some of them and packing them in the pouch, when she looks again in the crate, there is no detonation button or mechanism. She needs one of those just in case their enemy disabled the bomb, they'll press the button to blow it up. "… Where…?" she whispered as she ransack the crate again, only to find nothing. "Oi… and you guys call yourself terrorist? You don't even have a back-up plan." she deadpan as she searches once more and to her consolation she finds a book about bomb-making.

After getting enough explosives and the book, she then looks at the computer and the machine that Jessie use to make fake ID… Somehow, she almost became clueless on using their technology because it lacks the mouse and the wallpaper… and some applications. "D'oh… I expected the computers here are not advance was ours, but I do not expect to find it to be crappy. If Steve Job is ever to be born again, let he be born here… this world needs some help in tech."

Finding it to be useless, she checks some other things that will help and finds a lot of wires in another box. Done in searching the place, she heads back up to the bar and on time, Marlene asked her to help her with the restocking. Nodding and taking a chance to scout a bit, she takes the list from the little girl and head outs.

**:::^*^:::**

Walking around the area, her eyes scans for the any sign of the speakers Jessie mentions and she finds some of them on around the walls of the sector and some… are surrounded by houses. She follows the cables leading to a certain building which Jessie used to call the audio tower.

Now it's a monster's nest.

Apparently, the people did not bother driving the monsters out and taking back the tower, ever since they got TV. Which left this place to be a nest of those Hedgehog Pies, that looks like a fusion between a frog, a salamander and a needle-filled pin cushion. The creature she saw by the doorway seems to be a bit round than the usual, but she shrugs it off. Somehow she misses the hedgehogs back in Earth, that least they are cute and not all jumpy, cunning and I'll-ram-you-with-my-spike thing… She also noted that she would rather have a certain speedy hedgehog if it exist.

"Why do some people lack the smarts and common sense of safety here?" she muttered, she then remembers to buy the things Marlene requested and made a memo in her mind to come back here after. She then heads to Sector 5 where Marlene said that most of the groceries are delivered, entering…

"Whoa!"

"Yikes! Watch it kid!"

A 12 year old boy nearly rams on her and she has to catch him before he trips. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, sorry miss!" he said and then runs off. She smiled a little before she recognizes the kid and checks the pocket of her jacket and her hoodie. "Oh dang, I should've seen this coming…" she groans as she rubs her head and runs off to get the wallet back, which happens to be the money for the stock. She first went to the Materia Shop and she asked the owner about the boy who stole her wallet, he tips her that the boy got a Dash Materia.

But she got a game plan… running around, she spots the boy and hides from view. Looking back out, she replays the Haste spell her best friend accidentally cast on her earlier and her body glows again. In one smooth motion, she runs toward the kid, pickpockets her wallet back and stops right in front of him. He yelps but he gawks at the sight of the wallet her stole from her.

"Don't you know it's bad to steal?" she stated cheerily and the boy is about to bolt away, only he is caught by the back of his shirt and hold him there. "Whoa kid, where's the rush?"

"It's none of your business!" he shouts.

"Kid, when you stole my wallet, you made it my business." then she realizes that she said the almost exact words Zack Fair did. 'If only…' she thought, then she feels a pull and snaps back to the fact that she have to confront the boy. "So mind telling me why you do it?" The boy remains silent and ignores her. "I could help you know." she supplied.

His mouth press a bit till… "A monster ate my wallet." he answered.

'… Again? Seriously, have anyone thought of having elastic straps attach on wallets? It works back in Earth.' she thought.

"I need to buy some antidote for my dad and fast." he stated.

Riley had a gut feeling that she have temporary steps into Zack Fair's boots in this one, she offers to help the boy get his wallet back. "By the way, mind telling me your name, I'm Riley." she asked.

"… It's Joey…" he answers and she smiled. "Anyway the monsters that ate my wallet, are in the Sector 6 area."

"Okay, let's go."

"Heh?"

"I don't know what the monster that ate your wallet looks like." she points out and takes him to Sector 6.

**:::^*^:::**

In Sector 6, the place is a ruin… If Riley remembers correctly, this place was destroyed in Before Crisis by a battle between the Turks and a powerful summon. Everything is in ruins and monsters are everywhere… this became quite a job for her, since the monster that ate the wallet is a Hedgehog Pie and there are a lot of them around. Dissecting the innards are the least she and Mira wanted to do, and they learnt that the hard way right before they sent Cloud back at the station to meet Tifa. After taking down the fourth…

"Seriously… are you sure that one of them have taken your wallet?" the brunette asked.

"Yeah… but I have no idea which one ate my…"

"Look out!" she shouts and throws her dagger at the fifth Hedgehog Pie, which killed instantly by getting stab in the head. After the monster died, they checks the innards of it and finds only a few gil, potion but no wallet. "Seriously, any marking you can remember on it like a scar or something?"

"Ummm… well, I do remember it's a bit bloated." Joey points out. "Like it's eaten too much or…"

That lit a bulb in her head and grabs him. "Come on! I think I know where it is!" and dash back to Sector 7 and to the tower. Arriving there, she tells the boy to stay as she climbs the tower's stairs. Once she reaches the top, there she saw where the missing door is and a bunch of cardboard, paper, wires and a few metals were crafted into a nest…

And there… she saw a really bloated Hedgehog Pie, twice it's own size, growling and snarling at her like ready to rip the mime off for disturbing. "You know, this place is used as a warning system for evacuation, not for nesting grounds." she points it out to the creature, then the creature shrieks and attempt to Bodyblow her. She quickly jumps, grabs the edge of the roof and lifts her herself up as the red… spiky frog thing rolls under her and fell.

With the creature out of the room, she made a quick check of the area before she picks up the door. Once she made sure that it barricades the room from any monster, she made a mental note of checking the nest and runs back down. But on her way down… there she finds the bloated Hedgehog Pie, climbing the stairs and out of breath.

"Stairs are the fat man's enemy, good thing I'm into sports." she quips as she once more avoids another Bodyblow from it, and slams on the steps. "You still have the energy to do that?"

The bloated spiky reptile just snarls at her and attacks her with Fire. She yelps as she got burn and fell off the railing, grunting as she hit's the ground below.

"Riley!" Joey shouts in surprise on her fall.

"I'm okay! And stay there that fat spiky ball is coming back!" she snaps at him, and hears the spikes of the creature taping the metal steps indicating it's going after her. 'Ow… thankfully, it's not that high and the fat spiky frog really gave me a burn!' she thought as she takes out a potion and drinks it, as the bloated Hedgehog Pie rolls and stumbles after her. She scrambles up and cast Matra Magic on the bloated creature, which effectively kills it and a bunch of items spills out of it guts.

"Gross! Man, no wonder you're bloated tubby." she mutters and carefully searches for the wallet. She finds it with three potions, a hi-potion, a grenade and… "What the heck is this materia?" she looks at the odd green materia that she found and feels a rather vicious and dark presence in it, yet it purrs in delight and seems to be happy to be found. "Joey! I found your wallet!"

The boy whoops in joy as he jogs toward her, takes his wallet back and thank her at the same time. But he saw her looking at the materia and he too takes a good look of it. "Hey… that's a Dark Fire Materia!" he said, recognizing the green materia which have a slight darker hue from the other ordinary elemental materias.

"Dark Fire?" she parroted what he said and it dawns to her… she's holding a materia that came from Crisis Core, and made the entire fandom wonder what happened to these types in the original game itself.

"Yeah… wow, you're lucky! It is rare to see those materias again." Joey said.

"Eh? That happened to it?"

"I dunno, but from some rumors I heard it is used as an energy source for machines."

'Energy source for machines… why do I have the feeling that Scarlet is the one behind those disappearance of those materias.' she thought, as she equips the Dark Fire and feels the warm yet cunning materia on her skin. After picking the items up, she and Joey heads back to Sector 5 and on arriving there…

"You know, you remind me of someone…" the boy said and she looks at him, as they both enter the marketplace. "But that person never came back and made my friend cry." Riley knows where this is going and looks down. "Anyway, thank you for helping me… I'll try not to steal again." and he runs off as she waves at him good-bye.

"If only you know…" she whispers and heads off to buy the stocks.

**:::^*^:::**

Arriving back at the bar with a bunch on bottles of liquors and wines, she mentally thank the fact that she's nineteen despite the lack of age restraint on the alcohol in this world. Seriously, she saw some teens younger than her buying a bottle or two and drinking it!

"Thank you, Ms. Bau- bau- bau…" the little girl tries to pronounce the brunette's family name.

"Just call me Riley, kay?"

"Okay! Thank you Riley!" as she stores the bottles below the counter.

"Hey, tell me… are you allowed to drink those?"

"No, daddy does not let me till I'm thirteen." the little girl answered and she sighs in relief, although she mentally tells herself that she'll try convincing Barret to move the restraint up to eighteen. "Customers are coming soon."

"Need help?"

"Is it okay to you?"

"I have some experience with alcohol, so I don't mind." and she gets behind the counter. She really can't leave this girl alone working in the bar, despite the fact that she wants to go and check the tower. A four years old is not right sight in a adult bar.

"What about Ms. Call-calli…"

"You can call her Mira and she does not like alcohol, she doesn't have a strong tolerance like me." she shrugs and thought. 'More like she is never going to drink one, she always find it bitter…'

It wasn't long for a customer to come and have a drink, but she didn't expect meeting the infamous, cocky redhead of the Turks. "Finally, some booze." he mutter out loud and sits on one of the stools near the bar. "Give me something good and strong, yo." he stated with a wink to the brunette.

'Ugh… and I forgot that he's a flirt…' she thought as she makes sure she does not act strange. "Okay sir." she stated in a fake cheery way like those saleslady in a mall and turns to the counter, as her little companion cleans the tables. 'Okay… think! What drink should I give him… and literally make him drunk.' then it came to her like a light bulb. She doesn't know if they make cocktails here or give them straight drinks, but this will be the first time she'll be making an Earth-made drink in this world.

Remembering from her last embarrassing experience from a hard-hitting alcohol dare, she takes out a pair of pitchers, several bottles and a bottle of orange juice. In no particular order, she mixes the vodka, rum, gin, tequila, Southern Comfort, Peach Schnapps, Black Raspberry Liquor, Amaretto, 151 Rum, Triple Sec and a shot of Grenadine. Then she add an equal parts of orange juice and uses the other pitcher to mix both drinks in it. If she remembers correctly, this drink is strong enough to make one silly before getting knock out. She pours it in a glass and with added precaution, she added a few more peach schnapps above it and give it to the redhead.

The said Turk stares at his drink as he picks it up. "Well… this is new." he stated and then looks at her. "And so are you."

"Yeah well, I just came here in Midgar a few days ago and I'm currently trying to earn enough gil for stuffs." she quips with a shrug.

"I see… Well, first off, welcome to Midgar, second, my name is Reno and third, this is an interesting cocktail, yo." he noted.

"Well, you asked for a strong one." she replied. 'So they got cocktails in this world… interesting.' she thought, as she wipes one corner of the counter.

"True, so what is it called?"

"Well, the one who created and named the drink… is a little… vulgar on naming it."

"Really?" as he takes a sip of the drink and the juice somehow made the drink worth withstanding for. But it's the alcohol that made him intrigue with the drink. "This is really interesting… seriously, what is this?"

Looking at Marlene and motions him to come close, he did and she leans over to whisper the name. "Mother F**ker."

"WHA?" he looks at her with shock and nearly drops his drink.

"That's the name of the drink." she stated as he stares at her weirdly and she just shrugs once more. "Hey, ask the guy who named it, not me." At first he looks at the drink, then back at her, then at the drink and then the redhead laughs out loud, nearly giving the little girl a bit of a surprise.

"Hoo! Whoever that guy is, cheers for such an interesting drink yo!" and he downs the cocktail in one go, nearly slamming his glass on the counter and the mime smiled a bit. The alcohol is having a little effect as dusty pink color is starting to appear on his face and demands for a refill. She mentally thank her lucky stars that Greg decided to throw a before-graduation party and dared them into that drink… aside from Mira, who leaves out and does the damage control. The aftermath was something… they didn't look ahead on and woke up next afternoon tired and splitting headaches, as the songstress made it worse with her constant nagging.

She takes the glass, refills it and added the schnapps, then gives it back to him. He drinks it straight till it's half and then he takes time on drinking it as he engages conversation with the brunette.

"So where you came from?" he asked.

"I'm a traveler with my friend, actually, never staying in one place for long." she replied.

"Ah… so you're gonna leave soon?" he asked, she caught a bit of disappointment in his voice.

"Somewhat yeah."

"Oh…" and downs his drink then she takes the glass.

"Do you like the drink?"

"Yeah…"

"… Well, I guess it wouldn't be too bad to give the recipe with you."

"Really?"

"I'm not a bad guy who keeps the booze away, that's my friend." she points out and takes out a paper from the counter and making sure it does not have anything else in it. She then list down the alcohol needed and then gives the paper to the redhead.

"Yo whoa… that's a lot." he looks incredulously at the list before pocketing it.

"But it's good right?"

He nodded and this time his face is slightly red, almost like his hair. Riley restraint on laughing out loud at his face and merely gives him another drink. "True, but what I'm looking for is… something of a knockout, yo."

"Seriously?" she asked, because she happens to know one when Greg got a hold of THAT recipe, the ingredients and he drinks it once… a total knock out. But she didn't expect hearing from the redhead that he wanted a knockout drink, despite his cocky attitude plus he can hold his alcohol like it was shown in the original game.

"Yeah, the rookie just lost something and she wants me to help look for it." he stated in a annoyed tone and drinks his alcohol straight. When she asked what his friend lost, he merely said that she couldn't get into the Turks office without it and she does not remember where she even lost it. The only way she can get back into the office is thru him, since he have his ID and he is starting to get irk by the fruitless search. For him, if there is any consolation is the bar, the awesome fruity drink and the friendly bartender.

However, he really needs to go and she needs to get to the tower and see if she can still use it. She decided to up the ante and began looking for the ingredients for the knockout drink that knock the daylights out of her friend.

What she is going to make is something would put the vulgar word-named drink to shame.

She finds a grain alcohol and it surprises her that it got the highest alcohol proof, it made her wonder how Tifa got this… yet she's not going to complain. She looks for a bourbon, gin, tequila and rum with the highest proof, but she left out the mezcal since there is none and replaces the energy drink with the orange juice. Once she mixes all of it… "Here, it's on the house." she stated cheerily and backs away a bit. "Advice, drink it slowly." she warns.

"Thanks… this is a different drink." he stated, seeing that it is clear and smaller than what he have. Not taking her warnings, he raise his drink and downs it on one go… he fell off the stool and made Marlene panic over him.

"Well… I did warn him to drink it slowly." she mutters and goes out to see if the Turk is okay. Then the rookie, Elena, comes in and saw her superior is down. She presumes that Riley attacked him but Marlene is quick to the brunette's defense, and she seems to relax yet on guard. The brunette stares at the blonde and wonders what happen to Rude, who's the redhead's partner.

'Better not ask or Mira will have a fit on having our cover blown.' the mime thought.

"What happen to him?" she demanded, she check on the redhead for a pulse and finds one.

"He asked for a hard and strong drink, something that would knock himself out." Riley replied and she glares at her. "Hey, if the customer's orders it, I supply!"

The blonde Turk still glares at her and notices the glass her companion is holding. She picks it up and sniffs it, she recoils back on the strong scent and held her nose. "What kind of drink is this?" she demanded. For her experience of bartending, this is the first time she smells a very strong alcohol and she guess that this can knock a strong drinker out of it's feet effectively.

"A knockout drink he requested." the brunette replied.

Before she could even ask another her and Reno's phone rings and she only answers it as she heads out of the bar. A moment later, she came back, paid for the drinks and drags the redhead out of the bar before the mime could offer to help them. Both the brunette and Marlene just stood there, blinking at the door and to each other.

"Let's not mention this to your father and Tifa, okay?" she asked the little girl.

"Sure."

"Oh, by the way, I need to go somewhere." Riley noted and went back to the bar, taking the glasses and the pitchers, placing them on the sink and stored all the liquors in the cabinets. "Okay, liquors stored away… so mind washing the dishes? Please?" she asked.

"Well… okay, since you stored the bottle away." Marlene stated and she suddenly got herself hug.

"Thank you!" the mime said and runs out, leaving a surprise little girl on the floor. And as she runs out, she nearly bumps on Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge as they arrive back. "Sorry! But I have to go for a while! Take care of Marlene!" and runs off.

"Whoa! Wait! Where are you going!" Wedge tries to ask her but she is now too far to hear him or the others.

**:::^*^:::**

"Okay… let's try this again." and presses the play button.

And a high-pitch hiss came out which she quickly shuts it off. Sighing she checks the plugs and wires, randomly connecting them and testing if she got it. Sometimes she gets nothing, sometime a long beep sound or a loud thump.

After Riley shoves out the nest, which thankfully doesn't have any eggs in it except for an ether she picks, and she tries on getting the tower work. To test if there are sounds, she attaches her touch phone to it and plays music as she tries out the plugs. But for the seventeenth time, she got the thump sound again. "Ugh… man, this is hard without a manual!" she exclaimed and drops her head on the dirty counter without a care. Sighing…

She moves one of the plug in another socket and then… she hears music. She sits up straight and listens, before whooping for joy on getting it work. Now she wonders on making the sounds to loop around for a few minutes… before she hears an explosion and turns to the direction of the Sector 5 Reactor.

"Seems like I'll be going there later." she mutters to herself, as she tries to find out how to record sounds as she quickly pockets her phone. "Aye… they really neglect this place…"

After a lot of trials and errors, she finally gets the audio tower to work once more. Once she sets it, she decided to check the pillar but she couldn't get in because of the guards. Sighing a bit, her mind then wonders on Reno and Elena, who the latter loses her ID and is on a frantic search for it. "… I wonder…" she whispered and she digs into her pouch and takes out a white card she just found yesterday…

It turns out to be the missing ID of the blonde Turk.

She stares at it and couldn't believe it… she somehow got a hold of this, and it can open any floor because of it's Turk status. This can extremely help on their strike on Shinra, plus on their own mission.

Heading back to the bar, there she finds a grief-stricken Tifa being comforted by Marlene and a silent Barret. The other gives off an air of depression and she knows what's going on. "Hey, is there… wait, where's Mira and Cloud?" she asked.

"Mira went to Sector 5 to find Cloud… he…" Tifa said weakly but did not continue.

"Eh? What happen?" she asked, a bit demanding on her tone. Barret tells her everything to the point Cloud falls by the explosion and is probably dead, since they are that extremely high off the ground. Yet Mira does not accept that and heads to Sector 5 by herself, to find the blonde. Shaking her head, she too does not accept that the blonde swordsman is dead because she played the game. Turning around and is about to head out…

"Hey, where do ya think yer goin?" the black man asked and she turns back at them.

"To look for Mira and Cloud, duh." she said with a shrug. "Besides, I doubt a fall like at can kill a First Class SOLDIER." she mutters and then bolts out of the bar and heads for Sector 5.

* * *

><p>Silver: I don't know if this chapter is good or not, but now you know what happen to the other types of materias in Crisis Core. And the drinks… the first one is Mongolian MF, but she did not mention it's Mongolian since they are in a different world and that place does not exist there. It's alcohol percentage is about 30 to 40 percent (I'm not sure about this though), and the knockout drink she gave Reno is way beyond a hundred… it's the Pangalactic Gargle Blaster, please give credit for Adam Douglas for this most galactic alcohol drink ever. Hey Reno, did you feel like being hit on the brain by a slice of lemon wrapped on a gold bar? XD! And bonus, Riley's profile.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Riley Alex Bautista<strong>

Age: 19

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Brown, short

Weapon: A military-fighting knife and the ability to mime.

Personality: Riley is hyper, extremely extroverted, impulsive and versatile, she is considered to be a bit boyish with a cheery and optimistic outlook in life. Athletic and loves trying out any physical activities, Mira tends to call her an exercise nut and energizer bunny. She can be really caring and forgiving but backstab on her or on her friends, she will not hesitate on beating the attacker either from a fight or embarrassment. She dislikes people who view other peoples are mere things to attain their goal, while the used people's lives are ruin. Then, in landing in FFVII, she decides to change Cloud and the other's fate while keeping their secret of their origin being from another world.

* * *

><p>Silver: Read and review.<p> 


	9. Gentle Baroque

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird does not own Final Fantasy 7, only her OCs… Otherwise, we might end up having a not-so-epic battle with the lawsuits.)

_**Altering Rhythm**_

_**Gentle Baroque**_

Silver: Okay, once more, the girls are together and they once more meet Aerith! And Baroque means a flowery and emotional music, which seems to be fitting… Also I notice that I also made one mistake in this story… and that one mistake is the timeline. Zack died on the end of September and AVALANCHE strikes on Reactor 1 on December… there's a two months gap where Cloud wanders around Midgar before he is hired by Tifa and the others. Here after Zack's death the girls decided to change their fate and unknowingly advances everything on finding Cloud… so yeah, probably Cloud's level is low than the usual yet retains some of Zack's skills and memories. And a bit of warning… since Mira is a songstress, expect some song fic in some chapters.

* * *

><p><strong>Gentle Baroque<strong>

Running thru Sector 6 at night is not a very suggestive since there are some monsters that are nocturnal. After putting to sleep a pair of Whole Eater and a Hell House that got on her way, Mira gets into Sector 5 but she hides a bit when she spotted Reno and a bunch of Shinra guards… and she notices something odd about him.

'He got a headache?' she thought, as the redhead swore that he took the wrong day to have a hang over… but it worth it since he met a nice bartender. Then they left for the church and as she is about to follow them…

Someone grabs her from behind.

"GAH!" she yelped. She turns around roughly and presses the keys, but the figure manages to avoid it.

"Da-Ack!" the figure yelped as she fell flat on her back. "Geez Luis! Mira!"

"Riley?" the songstress asked, out of breath and holding her chest. "Crud, you gave me a heart attack."

"Heart attack? You nearly killed me with that gig of yours!" she snaps back.

"That's because you grab me by the back!"

"Right, sorry about that."

"Same here, but we need to get Cloud and Aerith."

"Is Reno there?"

"Yeah, he is suppose to be the one who would try and kidnap Aerith, although… he's kinda staggering… Eh, what's funny?" the songstress asked, looking at her friend who is holding her giggles and rolls on her front. She tells her best friend about her encounter with him and Elena, and Mira couldn't help to gape at Riley before laughing a bit. "Seriously! You made him drink a Pangalactic Gargle Blaster! That's asking to be hit on the brain!"

"Hey, he asked for a drink that would knock him out and I gave it to him!" Riley stated with glee as she stands and dust herself.

"No wonder… and you got Elena's Turk ID?"

"Yup… this is going to be useful along with this." she shows thee songstress the Dark Fire Materia on her bangle. "It's Dark Fire from Crisis Core."

"Seriously?" and looks incredulously at the materia.

"Yeah, apparently from the rumors… Scarlet as been using them as energy source for machines, but that is just the rumors. Anyway, let's go see if Cloud and Aerith got out…" the mime noted. Nodding at this, they look out and heads for the church. Only when arriving at the area where there are more junk, they see a pair of figures jumping down the pile.

"Cloud!" Mira shouts

"CLOUDY!" the brunette, on the other hand, not only shouts but glomps on him as well.

"GAH!" the blonde yelps as he nearly loose his balance as the brunette praises the fact he's alive. "What the? Riley!" he exclaims, seeing the brunette clinging on him again with tears running down her face.

"I heard you fell, man!" she shouts at him and he mentally swears that his ears are starting to ring. "Who wouldn't be this over-reactive! I know you're a SOLDIER! But man, Cloudy, don't pull a stunt like that again!"

"Riley…" Mira calls out and the brunette turns to her best friend. "Get off him."

"Okay." and the blonde sighs in relief as the brunette let him go and then slightly freezes when he is hug again. But he notices it wasn't the mime, it's Mira.

"Good to see you up and still breathing." she quips with a smile and lets him go. "I guess I was right to trust you on that."

"You what?" but the songstress is quick to cut her best friend off.

"Shush, it's not polite to intrude." the ravenette stated quickly, looking at the brunette before looking back at the blonde.

"Heh, I'm glad you did." he stated, feeling proud at his survival feat and then looks back. "Also I owe it to her for looking out for me." Both girls tilts their heads to see Aerith behind him, with her staff out and once more looking wary at the two.

"Hey, that's… the lady who we bought the flowers from in Sector 8 right?" Riley asked, acting she just meet her again.

"Yeah, apparently I landed on her flower bed in the church and her name is Aerith." he noted.

The mime trots in front of the flower girl with her best friend on her side. "Hey, I'm Riley, thanks for helping him out."

"And I'm Mira and thanks for watching over Cloud here for us." the songstress stated and they both held out their hands. The flower girl seem to pause a moment, taking a quick look on the two before shaking their hands.

And right there… she can sense the huge differences between the two. As she retract her hand, she seems to relax a bit yet on guard while the two assumed to her to be reserved than her usual character in the game.

"So… Why is she with you, Cloudy?" the mime asked.

"It's Cloud." he snaps back a bit on the mime. "I kinda agreed to be her bodyguard since we ran into a bit of trouble back there."

"Really? You agreed to be her bodyguard?" the songstress asked and looks at their new friend. "What did he charge you? Something exorbitant? Way beyond your budget?"

She chuckles a bit and looks at them. "No, I just have to give him one date." she said, as she held up her index finger and Riley gets a lewd smile on her face as Mira grins at him.

"Cloud, seriously, you were about to die from hundreds of feet and not knowing if the flower bed will save you, you pick up girls after surviving?" the songstress asked amusingly as the blonde turns away and coughs.

"Oh wow, so does that mean if we run out of gil, we also offer him a date?" the mime asked and she thinks as the others looks at her. "But it got no gil to pay for the food and stuff for the date… Oh! Don't tell me, it's a one-night stand!"

Everyone bugged out on that one. "WHAT?" Cloud exclaims, his cheeks went a bit red and Aerith covers her face in embarrassment.

"Riley!" the songstress shouts with her keytar out and attempts to hit her best friend on the head. "Mind out of the gutter!" she shouts and swings her instrument at her, only she manages to avoid it and runs.

"Hiiieee!" the mime wailed as she runs. "Mira! That's a musical instrument! Not a big sword like Cloud's! It will break!"

"Hey, during the trip to Sector 5, I find this instrument to be very durable!" the songstress replied and tries to hit her again.

"What about the sounds?" as she hides behind the blonde, using him as a shield.

"No problem."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive! Now get away from him so I can hit you!"

The mime squeals as she runs away and her best friend chases her after, with Cloud and Aerith standing there for a moment before tailing behind. But the chase didn't last long and the songstress stops right in front of the entrance of the Sector 5 market. There she supports herself on a wall while breathing in and out, taking more oxygen as she is a bit burnt out. "Crud… that energizer bunny." she swears, as Riley is hiding somewhere in the market.

"My goodness, are you okay?" the flower girl asked as the songstress takes in one more breath and stands straight.

"I'm going to be fine…" Mira said and puts away her keytar. "Sorry about Riley, she's… quite a loud mouth."

Aerith laughs a bit. "It's okay, she seems to be a lively one."

"Lively? Try the term hyper." she miffs as she gets off the wall.

"Back to the point, Mira call back Riley and Aerith, where to now?" Cloud asked.

"Oh it's not that far… actually thanks to Riley, my house is beyond this market." the flower girl said as Mira calls her best friend and then she just pops out of nowhere giving them quite a surprise. They then follows the flower girl to her home, towards a bright space. Arriving there, the girls are awe on the sight of a flower-filled area, which grows and seems to shine more than the one they saw in the church. Mira leans a bit to look on Cloud and she can tell that he too is amaze, yet he does not show it… except thru his eyes.

Looking at it, she can see the faint mist in it, hiding the truth and creating a illusion that hides the pain. 'Cloud…' she thought and then the blonde notices her staring.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing, I was wondering if blue is the only color of Mako eyes…" she stated and looks away, as Aerith and Riley enters the house with them following behind.

"Yeah… blue eyes are the icon of SOLDIER that indicates that you are exposed to Mako." Then he notices her staring at his eyes again. "What?"

"Nothing… the glow just suits you." she stated as she enters the house with him following behind.

**:::^*^:::**

Inside is pretty homey and warm, like those interiors one would see in a countryside back in their world. Despite the size and lack of living room, it is comfortable and welcoming as Aerith calls for her mother.

'Well… adoptive mother…' Riley thought as a elder lady in a green dress and white apron came out from the kitchen.

"Mom, this is Cloud, Mira and Riley." Aerith introduces them to her mother and looks back at her. "They're my bodyguards."

"Bodyguards…?" her mother asked, then looks at her adoptive daughter with worry realizing they are after her again. "You mean you were followed again! Are you all right! You're not hurt, are you!"

"I'm all right. I had Cloud with me and these two are quite of a help." her daughter said and she looks at the blonde and the two girls.

"Thank you." Elmyra said with gratitude and a polite bow.

"So what are you going to do now?" the flower girl asked looking at the three as her mother went upstairs.

"Well, since we found Cloud, we'll have to bring him back to Tifa's bar in Sector 7." Mira stated.

"Yeah, but the gates are close for tonight" Riley added.

"D'oh… I guess we'll be spending a night here or in the Wall Market Inn."

"Oh don't worry." Aerith said and they look at her. "You guys are welcome to stay here for the night."

The three looks at each other and they shrugs. "I guess we can take up your offer then." Mira quips with a smile.

"By the way…" the flower girl stated and looks at Cloud. "Is Tifa…a girl?"

"Yeah." he answered and the two freezes for a moment to see his reaction on this one.

"A girl…friend?"

"No way!" he sputtered and shaking his head violently, as the two fell to the floor laughing so hard on his reaction and Aerith giggles.

"You don't have to be THAT upset." she points it out as the girls gets up and Cloud glares at the two. "Well… how about these two?" as she also looks at them.

"EH?" both girls stated and stops when she mentions that.

"Is one of you Cloud's girlfriend?" she asked, looking at them.

Mira seems to blush lightly on that one but is able to hide it from them, Rile, on the other hand… "I know, Cloudy here is charming, makes the ladies stare at him with hearts and all, but I'm opting more of a tall guy."

"Excuse me?" the blonde asked, he seems to be offended on that one.

"I'm an inch taller than you, buddy." the mime points out as he crosses his arms. "Oh don't be too upset, you'll grow taller… someday… just make sure you drink milk."

"Hey!" as both Mira and Aerith laughs.

"Hee, hee, anyway, Sector 7, right? You don't mind if I go with you there?" the flower girl asked as she breathes to stop laughing and calm down.

"You gotta be kidding. Why do you want to put yourself in danger again?" he turns at her.

"I'm used to it."

"Used to it! …Well, don't know… have enough getting help from girls…" he said out of thought.

"Well, excuse us!" Mira snaps and he flinches, realizing that he is in the presences of three ladies.

"A GIRL!" Also Aerith is quite peeved on that. "What do you mean by that!"

Now Cloud seems to be cornered and Riley takes this opportunity to fool around again. "Hey, don't tell me you're gay!"

"WHAT!" he yells on that one, glaring at the brunette and both Aerith and Mira burst out laughing again.

"Well, usually when a guy does not have any interest on girl, they're gays… since you don't have any interest on getting help from us, are you one?" the mime asked with a grin and hands on her chin, as if she's a detective. But seeing Cloud's death glare made her flinch slightly and backs away slowly. "Okay… maybe you're not." she quickly said.

After a good laugh. "Mom! I'm taking Cloud to Sector 7, tomorrow." the flower girl announces as her mother climbs down the steps.

"But dear…" but she is cut off on seeing her daughter's determined face, which mean that she made up her mind. "I give up. You never listen once you've made up your mind. But if they are staying here, you better go and make the bed for three."

"Okay mom." and she goes up the stairs to prepare their rooms, then she goes back down and looks at them. "Hey, is it okay for all of you to stay in one room?" she asked. "We only got one bed and a sleeping bag there."

They look at each other and Riley responses. "It's cool. Cloud can take the sleeping bag while we take the bed."

"Just make sure it has enough space, otherwise she'll drool on me again." the songstress added as her friend yelps a bit on that and she looks at Cloud. "Are you okay on this arrangement?" she asked.

"… Yeah, as long as we can get back to the bar quickly as possible." he stated, nodding at her as she heads back up. Then the elder woman takes a close look on the blonde and saw the glowing, blue eyes.

"That glow in your eyes… you're from SOLDIER, right?" she asked.

He seems to draw back a bit, when the elder woman knows about SOLDIER like her daughter. "Yeah… or rather I used to be one."

"… I don't know how to say this, but… would you and your friends please leave here, tonight? Without telling Aerith." the mother requested and the blonde seems to agree since he doesn't want to place her in danger. As he goes upstairs, the two girls heard this from Elmyra… "SOLDIER… the last thing Aerith needs to get her feelings hurt again…"

Both girls look at each other and decided to console this. "Excuse me…" Mira called.

"Yes?" the mother asked.

"… SOLDIERs are not that all bad… it's just…" Mira stated and tries to find a suitable word to describe Zack's Last Stand.

"Shinra is nasty when it comes to retirement…" Riley quickly intervenes when Elmyra is about to say something. "We both heard rumors that they don't give a "nice" retirement to their… high-ranking employees…" with a shrug and heads up. Both of them stares at her retreating figure and looks at each other.

"I guess I could only say, don't assume too much… kay?" the songstress quips and follows Riley to their room. There they saw Aerith bid the blonde good night and turns to them. "Good night, Aerith."

"Night, Aerith." Riley also bid her good night and the flower girl smiles.

"Good night." she replies and heads down the stair.

"Oh, man…" they heard the blonde groan and they both enters the room, closing it.

"Oh man indeed, how are we going to get out without alerting her?" Riley asked, despite knowing that they'll meet her right at the entrance of Sector 6, she can't help but to asked. The blonde shrugs as Mira sits on the bed and removes the keytar from her, placing it besides the bed. "Okay… so, mind telling me what comes in your mind when you decided to take the fall?" as she eyes the blonde.

He then explains the event back at the reactor and Mira add in some few pointers, as the brunette listens to all of this. After that… "Seriously, you are one destructive person, no wonder the family name Strife fits you best." as the brunette stated, as she falls on the bed and hits her head on the wall. "Ow!"

"Riley, be careful." the songstress said as she turns to Cloud. "By the way, you promise you are going to tell me about THAT time."

"He what?" the mime asked, sitting up straight and looking at the two, very interested on the topic.

"I'll tell you next time. For now, let's get some sleep." he stated, as he pulls out the sleeping bag and immediately lays down on it. Both girls stares at him before they look at one another.

"Is he… avoiding the topic? OW!" she yelps when she felt something smack on the back of her head, and turns to see her best friend glaring at her. "What?"

"Nosy." the songstress snaps as she takes the cover and lies down on the bed.

"Hey!" but no answer came and she sighs as she too lie down and sleeps.

**:::^*^:::**

The next morning, before the sun come out and before Cloud's sneaking attempt, the two are awake and have gears up. Mira left a note on Cloud's pauldron and then they sneak out carefully not to alert Aerith. Once out of the house, they head to the garden to find the purple materia which is the Cover Materia. Riley picks it up and pockets it, then turns to her best friend.

"Okay, mind telling me Cloud's avoidance on a topic?" The mime asked.

"We were suppose to be talking about the breakdown issue back in Reactor 5, unfortunately you're in the way." the songstress hissed.

"Oh… OH! I get it! Dr. Phil. My mistake." the mime sputtered and smacks her forehead. "I guess you'll be waiting for a more private moment once we save the people in Sector 7. Anyway, the next scene is coming soon." she said with glee and rubs her hands.

"The next…?"

"Oh come on, don't tell me you forgot! I mean we practically stayed there while watching over featherhead."

"Uh… AH! That's right! Wall market!" she said loudly and the mime quickly shush her, they look back at the house if they disturb anyone. Seeing that they didn't, they continue with the topic. "As much as we want to see Cloud get into a dress… We really can't, we have to save those people from the wrongful and senseless death that awaits them."

"Duh! I know, which why there are two of us, girl! If I weren't the manager of the band and the handy girl, I would go and watch that." the mime pouts a bit then looks at the ravenette and hugs her. "Please record it for me in your cellphone?"

"Eh? Why not yours?"

"Cause I need it in case we need to contact one another." she then let her go. "Besides you got the make-up kit, so Cloud will not suffer a homophobic trauma in that Honey Bee Inn."

"True… I don't think the underwear add much points do they?"

"From the wiki, they don't." then they heard the door open and saw the spiky blonde hair come out. Cloud silently closes the door and looks for the two, he finds them coming to towards him from the garden. Once they exchanges greetings, they quickly run off into the market and arriving there… "Whoa wait, wouldn't we buy potions first? I mean, we're going thru Sector 6."

"She's right, that place is filled with creatures and vicious houses." Mira points out.

"Fine, make it fast." he said and goes to an armor shop. The girls finds the Item shop and Mira bought some potions when…

"Riley!" a boy shouts and the brunette mime turns to see the familiar boy running towards them.

"Joey! Nice seeing you again." she quips.

"It's a good thing I found you, here." he then shoves a rather messy, wrapped gift to the mime. "It's a thank you gift for helping me find my wallet." she smiled and also thank him for the gift as he runs off. She opens it to find a turbo ether and notices something on the paper.

"Hey… this is…"

"Riley! Mira! Come on or I'm going to leave you!" they heard Cloud shouts. Mira quickly paid for the potions while Riley pockets the items, and they both scramble after the blonde who is nearby the pathway to the entrance of Sector 6. Once they regroup, they heads for the entrance… only to meet a certain pink, flower girl there.

"You're up bright and early." the flower girl stated cheerily at them.

"How could I ask you to go along when I knew it would be dangerous?" he said, almost he wants to face-palm right now.

"What about them?" she asked, looking at Riley and Mira.

"Hey, we manage to survive at this point." the songstress huffs as Riley places a hand on her shoulder.

"The thing is… Cloud's enhance, I'm a handy girl and she cast status-induce spells from this instrument." the mime points out. But she just giggles at that and tells them that they need to pass Sector 6 to get into Sector 7. She then runs ahead, leaving a frozen Cloud and two girls who shrugs at this. The two then grabs his arms and drags him into the hole and towards Sector 7. Then they heard a yell and they run to Aerith who is being surrounded by 4 Whole Eaters and a Hell House. "Oh snap, hold on Aerith! We're coming!" and focus on casting Matra Magic on the bugs… only to jump back when the Hell House launches a missile on them.

"Ack!" Mira yelps as she falls on her side while both Cloud and Riley are able to avoid it.

"Mira!" the mime shouts as she jogs other to her friend. "Are you okay?"

"Ow… do I look okay?" the songstress hissed at her.

"I think you are." and they both avoid another missile again. "That is not a haunted or a horror house-"

"Will you focus back on saving Aerith!" snapping at her as the songstress grabs her keytar and attacks back.

"Right! I guess this is the right time on testing this mean fire." the mime then focus on the Dark Fire Materia and casts it. Similar to Fire except with a darker hue, it flies toward a Whole eater, hitting it and inflicting poison. It made the creature stagger and whimper in pain, before collapsing on it's side having a hard time to breath. "Wow… I have an effective bug killer."

"Fire!" Cloud shouts as he cast a ball of flame and hit's the Hell House, which in turn changes it's appearance. It now looks more of a disfigured house with a lot of robotic arms, legs, what seems to be some machine parts and a head poking out on one side. It then attacks the blonde with Hell Press, which nearly flatten him if it weren't for the sword poking up, hitting the center and killing it effectively. The blonde grunts as he push the monster house away to see… Mira dancing in front of the Whole Eaters which got something black on their eyes. "Is she…?"

"Yes, she is doing Darkness Dance." he nearly jumps on the fact that Riley is beside him, and she helps him up. "They're blind." she noted and focus once more on casting Matra Magic, as the blonde nodded and readies his sword. Once the songstress stops dancing, she quickly grabs the flowers girl's hand and runs away as Riley bombards the monster with the spell. While Cloud slashes any stray bugs that manage to escape or survive the blast.

Once it's over, they went on check on Mira and Aerith. Seeing them to be okay, they then proceed on heading for Sector 7.

But… Riley and Mira couldn't help but to notice something odd from her… Like why is she a bit relax when Mira is around and more cautious when she's alone with Riley?

**:::^*^:::**

Arriving at the playground where the gate of Sector 7 is…

"Here we are… but it seems it's still close." Riley quips and scratches the back of her head.

"I guess this is goodbye." Mira said, looking at Aerith beside her and Cloud.

"You gonna be all right going home?" Cloud asked.

"Oh no! What ever will I do! …isn't that what you want me to say?" she said the first part a bit dramatically and Mira turns away giggling at this.

"Do you want blondie to escort back home, after this?" the songstress asked, pointing her thumb at the Ex-SOLDIER who looks at her.

"Isn't that a little out of the way?" she replied, as Cloud and Mira shrugs together while Riley scratches her head. "Anyway, can we take a break?" she then turns and walks into the playground with the three behind. There her eyes seems to light up and smiles. "I can't believe it's still here!" she squeals in happiness and runs towards the slide. "Cloud! Mira! Riley! Over here!" she waves at them and the two girls look at on another then at the slide.

'I guess the slide is strong enough to hold four adults.' Mira thought, as Cloud climbs on the top and sits beside Aerith.

'I guest I can sit on the slide without sliding, that's Mira's job.' Riley thought, as she and Mira follows. Mira sits behind Cloud while Riley sits on top of the slide. There is a moment of silence for them and then…

"What rank were you?" Aerith asked

"Rank?" the blonde asked.

"You know, in SOLDIER."

"Oh, I was…" for a moment there is a slight pause and he answers. "First Class."

"Just the same as him."

"The same as who?"

"My first boyfriend."

"You were…serious?"

"No. But I liked him for a while."

'Oi… you and Zack are meant to be together.' Riley thought as she looks away. "If only we realize that we are in FF7 sooner… maybe...'

'He didn't left you for another girl, Aerith.' Mira thought as she sighs. 'He tried to get back to you… he really did.'

Then the gates of Sector 7 opens, revealing a chocobo pulling a cart and right there… "Huh? Hey, back there…" Cloud said and saw someone familiar and the two turns to see... "Tifa!" and both Mira and Riley are quite bugged out on her appearance. The bar maid looks more of those sluts in their home world, bust push up to show more cleavage, the skirt if she bends would show her underwear and really, really red lipstick that makes them think it's paint instead of make-up.

"Whoa, that's Tifa?" Riley sputters out as she balance herself from sliding down, and the chocobo pulls the cart away to the Wall Market.

"What the heck is she wearing?" the songstress asked incredulously as the cart disappears in the distance.

"That girl in the cart was Tifa? Where was she going? She looked kind of odd…" Aerith said and jumps down to follow the cart.

"Wait! I'll go with Mira and Riley! You go on home!" but it's too late and she is too far to hear him. He slumps a bit as Mira jumps down and follows Aerith to make sure she's safe and Riley stands up.

"Life of a girl." the mime quips at the blonde and he looks at her. "Well, better get going." she jumps down and heads for Sector 7.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"Hey! I have to tell the rest of our groupies that you live and not an egg splat on the ground!" she replied and he looks at her. "Besides, you still got Mira when things goes wrong."

"Alright, watch yourself, Riley!"

"Same to you, Cloudy!"

"IT'S CLOUD!" the blonde screams at her as she laughs all the way to Sector 7. But beneath the cheery expression, lies a determination on changing everyone's fate.

* * *

><p>Silver: Once more, the girls splits… and the moment you been all waiting for… drum roll please… Cloud's cross-dress experience! Only now, he got a songstress who can help him on make-up! XD!<p> 


	10. Crossplay

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird does not own Final Fantasy 7, only her OCs… Otherwise, we might end up having a not-so-epic battle with the lawsuits.)

_**Altering Rhythm**_

_**Crossplay**_

Silver: And the moment you been all waiting for! And I was really waiting for this! Don't you think that title is fitting? And dang, I only got two votes! One for Mira and the other for Cloud, which is a tie... so I talk with a fellow FF fan in school and she gave me a vote... I'm not saying who... XD! Just enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Crossplay<strong>

Getting to the Wall Market, Mira spots Aerith not too far and went after her. "Aerith!" she calls.

The flower girl turns to see the songstress running towards her and seems to brighten up a bit. "Mira!" she response back and trots toward her. "Where's Cloud?" she asked.

'… Seriously stop replacing Zack with Cloud, that won't help with his mental issue right now.' the songstress thought. "He'll follow soon and you… what comes into your mind on going after the cart?"

"I just want to make sure of the place where Cloud's friend going to."

"And you found it?"

"No… the chocobo is a bit too fast for me."

And Mira sighs. "Aerith, I know you want to help but try not to act first like Riley does, kay?"

"Okay… Um Mira?"

"Yeah?"

"Um…"

"Mira! Aerith!" the two turns to see Cloud running towards them.

"Cloud!" both of the girls stated as he stops in front of them.

"This place is scary in a lot of ways." the flower girl said.

"Actually, I've seen more scary places than this in my travels with Riley." the songstress quips. 'Well… it is half true and half false… most of the scary places are back in my home world.' she thought and sniffs a bit. "We better find Tifa fast."

"Right, let's start asking someone here who saw the chocobo and the cart pass by." the blonde said.

"You're looking for the chocobo and the cart?" the three turns to see a slick-looking man just nearby. "Well, that cart belongs to the Don of this place, so it either on Honey Bee Inn right other there or at the Don's place further up there… Are you ladies going apply to find your lucky guy there or taking a chance with the Don?"

Ignoring him, the three heads to the Honey Bee Inn first since it is nearby. On arriving there, Mira's eyes twitch on the sight of too much pink and neon lights, which is way more bright than in the game she remembers. Also there are men who are crowding around and trying to make up their minds if they are going in or not. The girls decided to stay out in a safe distance while Cloud goes there to get information on Tifa.

"Welcome! Even dweebs like you may find your destiny here! Looking for a special someone too?" the doorman greets cheerily at Cloud.

"Do you know a girl named Tifa?" the blonde asked… well, more like demanded.

"Ah, so you've heard the news. Tifa's our newest girl, but unfortunately she is having an interview right now." the doorman said and explains that all girls must go to the Don's place before they are sent here in Honey Bee. He also noted that the Don is looking for a bride to settle down with.

On hearing that and knowing about the Don's reputation, he briskly walks away towards the other place where Tifa is.

**:::^*^:::**

While waiting for Cloud, Mira knows that only girls can get into the Don's place. For their male friend to get in… he have to…

"Let's go." the two are slightly startled on the blonde's sudden appearance and they somehow sense his anger… and Mira knows why. The trio then heads up to the central edge of the Sector and there they find what looks like a pagoda-like entrance to the Don's place. Entering they saw some stalls on the way which made them weave around it, till they find the door of the mansion.

Unfortunately, there's a guard at the front and stops them.

"This is Don Corneo's mansion." he stated, as he reaches for his weapon. "He's a big shot here in Wall Market. Listen, the Don's not interested in men, so just get the hell outta here." then he notices two girls behind him. "Hey, you got some cute ones with you!"

Cloud wants to make sure Tifa's okay, he is getting impatient, annoyed and reaching for his blade when he is suddenly drag away by the two girls. Mira is also disgust at this, but considering barging in will only cause for the Don to run away… 'Come to think of it, since I know what's going to happen… I would agree on barging in.' she thought. 'But I made a promise to Riley to record the cross-dressing Cloud, along the fact that Tifa will get mad at him since she is spying on the… greasy, perv pig.'

"Hey, we'll go take a look. We'll tell Tifa about you." the flower girl said and is about to head in, but he stops and pulls her back. While Mira remains on where she is standing.

"No! You can't!" he stated firmly.

"Why?"

"You DO know…what kind of…place this is, don't you?"

"So, the rumors about the Don is true, huh?" Mira asked and the blonde nodded at her.

"Then what as we supposed to do?" she asked, looking at him straightly. "You want to go in with us?"

For some reason, Mira's mind is bombarded with images of the Wall Market Cloud in different designs from different fan arts, which causes her mouth to twitch into a silly grin before turning away. This is her favorite part of the game since she first played it, and now she understands why Riley doesn't want to miss messing up the blonde's masculinity. Looking at Cloud… she can definitely can tell that despite looking like a tough guy, soften him a bit, he can be labeled as androgynous.

'Seriously! No wonder Square used Cloud as a base for Lightning!' she thoughts and turns away, trying to stop herself from laughing out loud.

"Well being a man, that'll be pretty hard." he said as he crosses his arms and thinks. "Besides if I bust in there, it'll cause too much commotion." the flower girl also thinks of a way in, but she stares at the songstress' shaking shoulder and wonders what's wrong with her. "But, I just can't let you go in alone… Oh man… First…we need to find out if Tifa's alright… What's so funny, Mira?" he asked, noticing his companion is stifling a laugh.

And the ravenette froze as a line of 'Shit, shit, shit' runs across her mind. 'Ack, crap, this is suppose to be Aerith's idea…! Stupid! Crud… might as well put it in motion.' she thought and turns to look at him. "Well… I'll tell you later." she then turns at the guard. "Hey, you don't mind if we come back, we got another cute friend who we want to bring."

Both Cloud and Aerith looks at her as the guard agrees and reminds her that they can't bring the male blonde. She miffs at this because… she's bringing back the blonde.

But not as a male.

**:::^*^:::**

Once they are pulled outside, Mira explains the plan and… well, the blonde does not take it lightly as Aerith covers her giggles.

"NO. Just no." the blonde stated sternly as the songstress looks at him. "There is no way we're doing your plan, there has to be another way in."

"Got any brighter ideas? Obviously, you're a guy, you can't barge in and cause an uproar." the songstress points out. "Tifa may have a reason why she's in this place, but to make a ruckus is out of a question."

"Mira's right, the only ones who can get in are females." Aerith agreed after she calms down a bit. "Me and Mira can get in… but you…?"

"But!" the blonde protested.

"Cloud." the songstress snaps at him. "I know this will not bode well on your… status as a guy, but staying here and debating about this will not help you get in that place and help Tifa."

He glares at her, she stares back, the staring contest went for a minute or two and then… "Ugh… fine, I'll do it." he replied and slumps his shoulder in resignation.

Aerith can tell that he's under the blue while Mira smiled a little and pats his shoulder. "Hey, if this make you a little better, Riley and I used to cross-dress to get ourselves out of trouble or to get in some places." she then trots ahead to the Clothes Shop as the blonde looks at her retreating figure.

'Well… it is partly true, but it one major difference' Mira thought, as both Aerith and Cloud follows her. 'We're not cross-dressing, we're crossplaying.' she giggles at the memories of her high school and college years where she and her friends dress up as their favorite characters. 'Now I wonder what's Cloud's reaction when he finds out I used to cosplay as him during his trooper days or his 2 years future-self?'

Arriving at the Clothes Shop, Aerith is the one who asked the girl on the counter about making a dress. Cloud looks uneasily on the dresses around the shop as Mira calms him down with a simple tune of FF8. Then the flower girl turns around with a bit of a bad news… the father of the shopkeeper, who is the dressmaker, is slump out of ideas and is drinking away at a bar near the Don's area.

Seeing that they need to convince the father, the three heads out for the bar up north. On finding the bar and entering the place, Mira easily finds the dressmaker, who right there getting drunk because of the lack of inspiration.

'Might as well, put my Fine Arts degree to use.' she thought, as she taps the man on the shoulder and he turns to face her. "Excuse me, are you the one who owns the Clothes Shop?"

"Yeah… but I don't feel making one right now." the man replied with a hint of alcohol in his breath which causes Mira to turn away for a moment.

"Make me some clothes." Cloud said firmly and the dressmaker looks at him.

"I don't make men's clothes."

"Cloud, you wait over there for a second, we'll try talking to him. Why don't you go over there and have something to drink." Aerith said and shoos the blonde away, once he's near a table… "You know, Mister. He always said that just once, he'd like to dress up like a girl. So, that's why we wanted a cute dress for him…"

"What! A tough lookin' guy like that?" he hissed and points at the blonde.

"Actually, he's slender enough to make a passable female, don't you think Aerith?" the songstress quips.

She giggles a bit. "So, how 'bout it? Will you make him one?" she asked.

"Hmmm… might be interesting. I was gettin' a little bored just makin' regular clothes." he stated and the two seems to brighten up.

"Then you'll do it for us?"

"Yeah, all right. What kind of dress you want?"

"Something… That feels soft." the flower girl said and then looks at the songstress. "How bout you, Mira, got anything to add?"

Mira stares at her for a moment before she pretends to think and then… "How bout something…that shimmers." she added, deciding she would go for the best items. "Oh and…" she adds in a few inspirations and some suggestions to improve on his designs for future businesses.

"Hmm, got it. Y'know I got a friend that has the same taste as him. I'll go talk to him and thanks for those suggestions." he said, drinks his last booze before leaving the bar.

With the dress in the way, the three heads out and is about to head back for the dressmaker to get the blonde's measurements. "Hey, you guys don't mind if we split a bit?" the songstress asked.

"Eh why?" Aerith asked.

"I'm going to search for a few more items that would help make him a very convincing girl." she replies and the blonde looks at her.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" he deadpans.

"There is a saying that one should enjoy the little things in life, no matter how ridiculous or outrageous it is." she stated with a shrug and tilts her head a bit at Cloud. "After all, you're only going to do this once." and then she runs off to get the tiara and cologne.

**:::^*^:::**

First she went to the Inn, where the innkeeper is happy to see her again. Although, the songstress denied on renting a room, he seems to brighten up when she stated that she wants to buy something from the vending machine. Counting her money and making sure she have enough for the coupon, she bought a protein drink set and left. She then quickly heads to the Materia Shop, where in there is a man lying down and seems to be troubled.

"Excuse me, is there something wrong?" Mira asked.

"Nope, it's nothing to be concern about…" he replies.

"Is this about the fight you have with the innkeeper?" she asked, remembering that this guy told Cloud that he fought against the innkeeper in the game.

"Yea-WAIT! How do you know that?" he demanded, as he sits up fast.

"I heard it in the passing…" she lied.

"Ugh… yeah, that's right… now I will never know what they sell in that machine."

"What happen?"

"Sorry but I can't tell"

"Well… I guess you don't want this."

"Don't want what?"

"The thing I got from the vending machine in the inn, I was planning to sell it to you."

This time he jumps up and looks at her with eyes wide and gaping. "Are you serious?" he asked.

"Yeah, I have no interest with a set of protein drinks anyway." she gives the set of cans to the shopkeeper.

"How much is it?"

"200 gils."

"That jerk. I'll gonna do more business than him, it will make his head spin." he stated firmly as he stands and looks at Mira. "Thank you, girl. I'm motivated now, you can have this which you would like." he then turns, reaches on the top of the shelf and picks a Diamond Tiara, and then gives it to her.

"I'm glad I could help." as she takes it and places it in her pouch.

"Yeah… well it would help me a bit more if you keep the fact that you help me to ourselves." he stated and his face is a little red.

'I guess he is not used on having a girl to help.' Mira thought as she agrees to keep the whole thing to herself. She then left the shop and heads to a diner, where she is welcome warmly and she finds the only seat available. She takes a seat and then orders a Sushi Plate, wanting to know some difference between the sushi here and the ones back in her home world. After she orders, she first pays for the meal and then she waits for it to be prepared. When it is place in front of her, she takes the chopstick and picks one of the 'Wutainese' delicacies. She pops one in her mouth and chews on it… and then…

'Ugh… it tastes like those sushi you like buy in a supermarket…so plain.' she thought and swallows. "… it's alright." she stated and the waitress thank her and gives her the last coupon, stating that she can get any medicine with it. Thanking the waitress, she then exits the diner and heads for the pharmacy, where she gave the shopkeeper a bit of a fright when she tries to get his attention. Once he calms his heart, he notices the coupon and asked what medicine she wants with it.

'Hmm… although, the Sexy Cologne is the best item, it might be too strong… should I go with a Flower instead?' she thinks, weighing out the scores of the best and the second best item… but she decided to get the Digestive, out of pity for the woman in the bathroom… 'Maybe, I could ask her for the Flower instead of the Sexy one? After all, I do got a make-up kit to add some points on his… feminine side.' she thought as she give the coupon to the shopkeeper and she receives a Digestive.

She then runs out and heads to the bar, where the stomach-sick woman is… but before she enters the place, she heard some cheering from the gym. 'It seem like Cloud is fighting for his wig.' she thought amusingly before she slips into the bar. There she heads directly to the restroom, where on the side is a man who seems trying to hold it, and she knocks on the door.

"THERE'S SOMEONE IN HERE!" the lady shouts from within and groans, as the songstress jumps out of shock at her shout.

"Um… I got something that would help with your stomach flu." Mira offers a bit meekly still a bit stun on the loud yell before.

"… Really?"

"Yeah." and she takes out the digestive and knocks once more. "Is it okay for you to open, so I can give it?"

At first, there is silence and then there is a click. The door opens slightly and she slips the medicine into the lady's hand. And then it closes and the songstress just stands there for a moment… till the lady comes out.

"Thank you, I really needed that." the lady said and then takes out a deep pink bottle with a red cap and the label 'Sexy' on it. "This is for your kindness."

Mira takes the bottle, opens it and takes a good whiff of it… she then cringes. 'Ugh! Too strong! And so fake… Bleagh! I think I smelled something spicy on my nose and it burns! They call this Sexy?' she thought as she rubs her itching nose.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Ugh… it's a bit strong…" she utters and the lady seems to understand. She didn't mind taking back the 'Sexy' and replaces it with 'Flower' which doesn't smell too strong and is subtle yet gives off the fragrance of cherry blossoms, jasmine and a hint of green tea. This bewilder her a bit, but she would guess that this came from Wutai… considering it's the only country close to resemblance to Japan or China. Overall, she likes this fragrance best than the other since it is soft to the nose and… well, flowery.

Then it comes to the issue about Cloud's… hygiene…

"Okay, I got the tiara and the cologne, but now I have another problem which I didn't think ahead of…" she groans and face-palms herself. 'Man… I did promise to myself and Riley that I would avoid the Honey Bee Inn for Cloud's sanity. But with all the fighting and monster hunting, I don't think this cologne will cover all that stink.' she sighs and then made an attempt to find anything in her pouch that would help avoid the pink, neon inn.

And it seems luck is on her side.

After she fails to find anything in her pouch, she takes out her make-up kit to see if she got the cosmetics she needs. And there she found a pack of wet wipes, half-full, which are use to remove make-up after the event or occasions. She manages to smile as this solves her problem for the blonde's hygiene…

"… _Mira… a fitting name indeed…"_

"Huh?" she utters and looks around, seeing no one near her and she scratches her head. "Is…?"

"Mira!" a familiar voice called and she turns to see Aerith and Cloud walking towards her. "Did you get what you need?"

"Yeah, now come on, we better dress him up and get back there." Mira quips, and she does notices the blonde wig on the Ex-SOLDIER's hands.

"But, he looks a bit of a mess." the flower girls points out and they looks at him, who is covered with dried slime, blood and a bits of guts in his uniform. But Mira waves it off and shows them the wet wipes and the cologne, which the flower girl approves on after giving it a good look.

With the stuff they got, they heads back to the Clothes Shop with Cloud seems to be following behind them with a dreaded feeling. And as they go back, Mira quickly sets her touch phone on her breast pocket and ready to record.

**:::^*^:::**

"Okay…"

"You ready?"

"… I ca-"

"Cloud, drag this issue around once more, I'll hit you with a note from my Orchestra Ai." and then she winces on what she said, remembering his future self's self-guilt on his inability to save Zack and Aerith which he carries and drags around him for 2 years.

Back to the issue at hand, the blonde swordsman is hesitating on changing into the dress and is dreading on what the girls will do to him after he gets into it. After throwing the dirty wet wipes into the trash and taking deep breaths, he enters the changing room and gets into the dress. A moment later… "Um… Aerith? Mira? How do you put this on?" he called out.

"Can you unlock the door so I can see?" Mira answers and he obeys. Peeking in and then freezes, the songstress sees his slight dilemma on his light purple, strapless dress with a big bow at the front, a bit of stuffing on the chest part to mimic the breast and the zipper open on the back. But what made her froze is the fact that Cloud is topless… although he holds the top part of the dress like holding a towel to cover the front, his back is absolutely…

'MIRA CALLIOPE! SNAP BACK TO EARTH!' her mind mentally yells at her, causing her to hit herself on the door's edge and slips to her back.

"My goodness! Mira! Are you okay?" Aerith asked out of surprise and worry, as she went to the songstress' side and the blonde is surprise on this sudden movement.

Immediately, the ravenette is able to pull the door close for a moment as the flower girl helps her up. The shopkeeper apologizes to them since she waxed the floor a day before, thus it is a bit slippery. The songstress thanked who ever is up in the sky, as she gets up and immediately helps the blonde with his dress. This time, she is not so flabbergast on his back and she easily zips up the dress. But she stops for a second, where she spots the scar on his back…

The very scar where Sephiroth stabs Cloud… it is slightly faint but with the right light it can be seen.

"Cloud…" she stated, decided that she'll try getting the blonde to remember. "Where did you get this scar on your back?"

"Huh?" he asked.

"The scar, where did you get it?" The blonde then turns around, his back at the mirror and sees the slightly closed zipper and the said scar. He furrows his bows together and tries to remember where he got it. 'Come on Cloud, try remembering although it is painful to remember…' she mentally encourages him.

But… "Sorry… I don't know how I got it." he answers and she slumps a bit on that one. After zipping up the dress, she then left him in the changing room as he puts on the wig as she turns on the record. The songstress sighs as she leans on the wall of the shop, she knew it is a daring move to remind him about the scar. But she guesses that it will take some time for him to remember of his real past, and she have to ease it up or else a certain ex-general will break him.

Again she sighs, she also taken account of Tifa who is also a Nibelheim Incident witness. If she sees either her or Riley trying to make Cloud remember, she definitely interfere and keep the blonde safe.

"Mira." the songstress turns and looks at Aerith. "Is there something wrong?"

"Uh… nothing, I'm just thinking what kind of mess Riley is making right now that the bar." she replied, steering away from the topic in her mind. The two talk about friends and stuffs until the door opens and 'she' comes out. The two of us takes a good look on him and Aerith seems to be glee on seeing him all dolled up, while Mira turns away with a brief surprise on her face.

'Holy… Skrits…' she think slowly as her mind seems to work sluggishly on seeing what she saw on blonde before looking away. 'It's Lightning…! He looks exactly like her except he's missing the female… parts…' she trails her thoughts away and looks back at him. True to what she sees, the blonde wig is styled similarly to Lightning's instead of pigtails like she have seen in the game, long and wavy part on one side and the short on the other. His dress is design similar to what she saw in the FF wiki, with a light purple choker and long gloves to match and instead of the brown boots he always wears, he wears a 3 inch heel, purple, ankle boots… which is much more fitting to the looks. 'Wow… If I ever get back to my world, I have convince Square about this design for the Wall Market scene on the FF7 remake.'

"Hmmm… not bad." the dressmaker said, looking at his work with approval. "This my be a new business for me."

"Yeah, you're right. Should we try it?" his daughter asked and he nods, then she looks at them. "Thanks for showing us something new and inspiring. My father's got his motivation back now. So the dress in the house."

"It's not a problem." Mira quips.

"Walk more nicely like…this." Aerith stated and shows him how to walk, then looks at him teasingly. "Miss Cloud."

"Actually, it's more of Miss Claire Strife." the songstress teases the blonde, as she mentally laughs at the fact that she named his disguise after Lightning's real name. "After all, Cloud sounds a bit moody."

"… What do you mean moody?" he asked, both embarrass and annoy at the songstress… it is her idea after all. He tries walking but he nearly stumbles over, luckily he manages to catch his balance as he moves from the changing room to Mira's side. "Ugh… how do you walk on these things?"

"One advice: when walking in this, heels first, then toe." the songstress stated and shows him how to walk properly on heels. It didn't take long for him to get a hang of it and is able to walk without stumbling. "Not exactly the catwalk, but it's passable… also relax, you need to be fluid and flexible to look feminine."

"Wow, you know everything about this stuff don't you?" the flower girl asked.

"When you're a songstress, you don't just stand on one place and sing, it gets boring." the ravenette said with her hands on her hips. "Plus you need to be presentable on stage, as a songstress sings an hour or 2 straight with a few water breaks to wet the throat."

"I see." she said and looks at Cloud (AKA Claire). "Oh you're so adorable, Miss Claire." and the blonde rolls his eyes at his new codename. "Ah… I want one. Do you have one that'll look good on me too?" she asked the father and daughter, which causes them to go on a short debate on what dress she'll look good in till she picks a red dress that catches her eyes.

"Hey, Aerith, once you're done the make-ups are right here with me." the songstress noted at the flower girl, as she place her keytar on the counter and the brunette nodded at this.

So as she dresses up, Mira adds the finishing touches on Cloud which will convince the Don and the guards that he's a female. Cloud wants to protest on this one, but to get in where Tifa is, he needs a convincing cover. She did not add eyeliners because it will sharpen his mako eyes and they need to hide that from exposing their cover. Putting a layer of foundation and face powder, she then brush a pink blush on and keeps brushing till it's a bit faded. She then sprays the Flower cologne lightly and place the tiara on his head. She then debates on herself on adding eye shadows, but decided not to because of the mako eyes and shifts the debate of the lipsticks. So far, she only got 4 lipsticks and is wondering which color would fit on the blonde.

"You're really enjoying this?" the blonde asked, as he scowls on his situation.

"Hey, it's not everyday I put make-up on men, now stop scowling." she quips and she once more checks the color again. "Dang, I know pink is suited with this dress, but I don't know which tone." she mutters.

"Oh wow!" a familiar voice gasped and they turn to see Aerith, now in a red dress that reminds Mira of Ada Wong from Resident Evil without the slits. "Miss Claire is even more prettier!"

"Let me hear my props! I'm good right?" Mira stated with hands up and the blonde rolls his eyes once more. "But I need some help, can you tell which pink tone would fit for him?"

"Hmmm… how about this one?"

"… I think it will do, plus the slight dark shade makes the lips look full."

And once she finishes with the blonde's cover…

"… Well, I have to say… that is one pretty woman, you really did a good job on him." the dressmaker stated and his stun daughter nodded in agreement, the songstress pumps her fist in victory.

"Oh my! You did a wonderful job on him!" the flower girl squeals as Cloud turns away both red and embarrass on this. Mira felt proud and pity on this… proud that she is able to twin the looks of Lightning on Cloud, but she also felt pity on the blonde since she just downgraded his masculinity. "Okay… it's your turn to dress up." and the songstress looks at her.

Mira would protest since they are going to the Don's and it is Aerith's idea on also joining in dressing up… but since the idea of dressing up Cloud became hers… well, she had expected a bit of side effects. Restraining a sigh, she then walks to the rack to find a dress that suits her taste as she stops recording for a while.

She then spots a black and white dress that pique her interest and pulls it out. It's a turtleneck, sleeveless cocktail dress: the main dress is white with black, laced turtleneck, the front skirt short and the back is long and black ruffle skirt beneath. It have additional white, soft and smooth sleeves with black ribbons straps and spots a matching black slippers with long ballerina straps. The frilly underskirts reminds her of the long sash-like cloth on Yuna's dress-sphere.

'Oookay… this reminds me a bit of the songstress sphere in FFX-2...' she thought but before she returns the dress on the rack.

"That!" the songstress nearly jumps a good feet on Aerith's sudden outburst and takes the dress out of her hand. "This fits you!" she stated and looks at the dress, then at Mira and then compares the two as Mira is frankly stupefied on the sudden action.

After snapping back to reality, the flower girl have already pushed her into the changing room with the dress and shoes on her arms. 'She scared the heck out of me on that one… but…' she thought and looks down on the dress. 'Aye… I like this dress, but I would rather wear this on a date or a performance… not in front of a perv.'

Still, they need to get in and help Tifa, she changes into the said clothes and comes out. "Wow, I knew it suits you." the flower girl quips as the songstress blows her bangs away and walks to where Cloud is. She then grabs her belt bags and wears it under the frills, thus adding a bit of shape on her dress. She does not know where to place the touch phone, but thankfully the shopkeeper gives her a handheld purse that matches her dress. After adding a light make-up on and tie a white ribbon on her hair, she then packs her makeup kit. Secretly, she make a tiny hole on the purse for the camera, starts recording again and looks at the two.

"You know it would be wrong to say this since 'Claire' here is not that… girl-girl." Mira quotes as Aerith stifles a laugh and Cloud rolls his eyes. "But it's a Girls Outing, shall we head to the mansion, find our friend, scare the wits out to those pervs and have a fantastic day out?"

"Sure, 'Claire'?" the flower girls asked the blonde as the songstress picks up her instrument.

"… Once we find Tifa, we get the heck out of there." he deadpan.

'Uh… I don't think we'll get out of there with style though.' the songstress though as she thank the dressmaker and the shopkeeper, then they left for the mansion.

**:::^*^:::**

Arriving at the mansion, one good look at Cloud (AKA Claire), the guard felt like he is struck by the cupid's arrow. He only slumps when he realizes that 'she' too is a candidate for the Don, yet he hopes his boss chooses someone else. The guard then turns and signals the doorman to open the door for three lovely ladies.

'Two ladies and a cross-dresser.' Mira jokes in her thoughts as the doors opens.

They then enters the place and there they meet another man behind the counter, who tells them to wait in the hall as he informs the Don. Once he left…

"Now's our chance, let's go and find Tifa." Aerith whispers and the two nodded. They head up the stairs and checks the doors, only to find them lock but Mira heads straight away to the door-less room. She carefully climbs down the stairs and on reaching at the bottom, there she finds the bar maid in one side of the room… which happens to be a torture room, of sorts.

She is about to greet her when she heard a yelp and manage to catch the blonde from stumbling down the stairs. She manages to balance herself and push him back standing, as she winces on the pressure on his weight on her legs and feet. He mutters an apology as the songstress waves it off. "I'm fine, I'm fine." She utters as Aerith came to their side. "Looks like I failed a little on explain how to climb stairs with heels on." she joked dryly.

Then he sees Tifa and he immediately remain on Mira's side, who's near the door. Seeing this, Mira motions the flower girl to talk to the bar maid, then made a mental note to fix that lipstick and to tone down the hooker look. 'She may have the assets for those, but her own personality and strength contradicts it.' she thought.

"Don't worry." they both heard Aerith and looks at the other two. "We just met. It's nothing."

"What do you mean, 'Don't worry'…about what?" Tifa asked. "No, don't misunderstand, Cloud and I grew up together. Nothing more. Mira and Riley are good friends, I should thank her for finding him when I thought he is dead."

"Hey don't mention it, just don't think negative next time." the songstress quips and Tifa nearly jumps on seeing her.

"Mira! You're here too? Where's Riley?"

"Yeah, she went back to the bar and we wanted to know if you're okay… and why the heck you decided in that get up?" then looks at the blonde, who's trying to be invisible in one corner. "Oh come on, you don't have to be that embarrassed… I mean, not all men can pull off a convincing gender swap, Cloud."

"Cloud?" Tifa asked and the blonde stiffens a bit. It takes a nudge from the songstress to get the blonde move in front of the bar maid. When he is now in front of her, she takes a peek and she jumps about a foot high. "CLOUD! Why are you dressed like that! And what are you doing

here! Forget that, what happened to you after the fall! Are you hurt?" she shoots out the questions like javelins.

"Hey, give me a chance to answer." Cloud stated and slumps a bit. "I'm dressed like this… because there was no other way to get in here. I'm okay, Aerith helped me out, Mira and Riley found me after.

"Oh thank goodness." she said in relief, and Mira look at her.

'What? No comment on having rivals to Cloud's heart? Weird…' the songstress thought.

"Tifa, explain." he stated. "What are you doing in a place like this?"

"Yeah, ummm…"

"Ahem! I'll just plug my ears." Aerith announce and goes to one corner, covering her ears.

'It's not like it's going to block the sounds, you know.' the ravenette thought and looks back at the two.

"I'm glad you're okay and thank you for finding him." the bar maid stated and Mira just nodded at her.

"Thanks. What happened?" he asked.

"When we got back from the Number 5 reactor, there was this weird man loitering around the Sector. So Barret caught him and squeezed some information out of him."

"That's when the Don's name popped up."

"Right, Don Corneo. Barret told me to leave the lech alone... But something's been bothering me."

"I see. So you wanted to get the story straight from Corneo's mouth."

"So I made it here, but now I'm in a bind. Corneo is looking for a bride. Everyday, he gets three girls, chooses one of them, but now he raise the numbers up to four and then… …and, well… Anyway, I have to be the girl…or I'm out for tonight."

"Oh crap shit." Mira whispered when she heard that the number of girls just increased to one more.

"Sorry…but I overheard…if you know the four girls, there's no problem, right?" Aerith said, as she looks at them and they look back at her.

"No, Aerith! I can't have you get involved." he said sternly at the flower girl.

"Oh? So it's all right for Tifa or Mira to be in danger?"

"No, I don't want Tifa or Mira in…"

"Is it all right?" Mira butts in and mentally smack herself again. 'This is suppose to be Tifa's line!' she thought angrily at herself but she doesn't show it.

"I grew up in the slums… I'm used to danger." as she walks across till she's near the staircase. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes." Tifa said, with a friendly look and smiles. "Thanks, Ms. Aerith."

"Call me Aerith." the flower girl replied with a smile.

"Heyyy!" the four the turns to see the man behind the counter before up the stairs. "It's time, ladies. The Don is waiting!" then he turns and walks away, saying about women straying around the place nowadays.

"… Well, since there are four girls that the Don allows…" Mira said offly and looks at the blonde.

"I probably don't need to ask but the other girl is… Me… …right?" he asked, looking so uneasy and is really dreading over his dilemma. The other two looks at him before looking at one another.

"You're right." Mira quips

"There was no need…" Tifa added.

"…to ask." Aerith finishes.

**:::^*^:::**

Both Tifa and Mira have to pull and drag a stun 'Claire' to get to the office, once arriving in there…

"All right ladies! Line up in front of the Don!" one of his lackey ordered the four and they line up in front of the table. Both Mira and Cloud are in the middle of the line, and Tifa and Aerith are on the ends. And there, Mira saw what the Don looks like…

'Oh man… have he not heard of exercise? Or Facial wash? Ewww! His face is oily! Not to mention his Mohawk is a mess' the songstress thought as she restrains herself from saying it out loud.

Looking at her companions, she knew they feel the same way as she does yet they hid it well.

"Hmmm!" The Don mutters and leans on the table to look at the four. "Good, splendid!" he stated with glee and the songstress have to stomp her disgust and annoyance, not to blow their cover. "Now, let's see…" Jumping out from his table and looks at the girls closely, one by one. "Which girl should I choose?" he looks at Aerith. "Hmm-hmm-!" then looks at Cloud who looks away to hide his glowing eyes. "This one?" then looks at Mira, who restraint her urge to smack the Don with her keytar. "Or this one?" he eyes on Tifa then he looks at Cloud again, only he looks away once more.

"Woo hoo, I've made up my mind! My choice for tonight is… GAH! I'm still in a dilemma!" he then turns around and leans on he table like he have a heart attack.

'… Oookay… this wasn't suppose to happen.' the songstress thought. 'Not that I mind the slight delay.'

"These two!" the fat boss stated and points at Mira and Cloud, who slightly panics on this. The blonde opted to beat him out right now, but she stops him by holding his hand and squeezing it for him to relax. "These two beauties… the healthy-looking girl looks so attractive and naïve, it's so cute and adorable!" the blonde got irk on the last part, while the songstress have to restrain on laughing. "And this lovely swan looks so mysterious yet mesmerizing, almost if I take her she'll vanish the next day!"

The ravenette stares incredulously at the fat guy on how he describes her. 'Weirdness… wait, don't tell me that he sees something off about me…?' she thought with a bit of panic there.

"Argh…! Yes! I made up my mind! I pick…!"

He then takes the songstress' hands and looks at her, totally love-struck. "The lovely swan!"

'Well… crud…!' she thought, looking surprise and looks at the three who looks back at her, nodding that she must go with him and get the information. "It's an honor to chosen, sir." she replies and stomps on her flight or fight feeling in her.

"So humble… I think I'm starting to like this." the Don stated rubbing his hands together and looks at his men. "You can have the other ones!"

"Yes sir! Thank you sir!" his lackeys saluted, looking thrill to have fun with the remaining three girls.

"Well then…" the Don looks back at Mira. "Shall we go my pretty?"

Giving one more look at the three, she follows the fat man to his bedroom.

**:::^*^:::**

Inside the bedroom…

'Gold! Bright! Too much!' her brain alerted her on the sudden brightness of the room, causing her to cover her eyes for a moment and readjust her sights.

"Ahh, we're finally alone…" the Don said, with a hint of excited and husky tone as he sits on his bed. "All right, my lovely swan… Come to daddy!" he then pats on the bed motioning to sit beside him. "You're so alluring, I never get tired of looking at you. Do you…like me, too?"

"Well… can you be honest?" she asked, reaching for her keytar.

"On what, my dear?"

"I will sing and can you tell me honestly how my music is." she stated. "If you do…" she gives out a hint that would excite the fat man, yet she restrains on vomiting on the bed itself.

"Oh! Of course! Of course! I, too, want to hear your lovely and mesmerizing voice." he said and lays on the bed on his front like a high school girl on the phone.

'Oh… it is going to be mesmerizing alright.' she thought and arms her keytar. She begins playing a soft melody in a guitar setting and she hums a little then…

We could just go home right now

Or maybe we could stick around

For just one more drink.

Oh yeah.

She sings.

Get another bottle out

Let's shoot the breeze, sit back down

For just one more drink.

Oh yeah.

Here's to us.

Here's to love.

All the times that we've messed up.

Here's to you.

Fill the glass.

Cuz the last few days have gone too fast.

Oh let's give 'em hell.

Wish everybody well.

Here's to us.

Here's to us.

Then she hears a snore and she stops, then she looks at the sleeping Don with a victory smile. "Who needs to use force when you can sing them to sleep." she stated cheerily and hugs her keytar. "I'm so happy to learn Lullaby." then she left the room for a moment to change her clothes. Once she finds a good, secure corner to change, she then packs the dress and place the phone on her breast pocket again. After that, she is going back, to smack the Don awake and starts the interrogations…

"Mira!" she turns back to see Cloud, Aerith and Tifa running to her. "Are you okay? Did that lech do anything?" he asked, seems relief to see her out of the room yet a bit worry for her.

"Yeah, he did not because I put him to sleep." the songstress quips and points her thumb at the room. "If you want to interrogate, one of you have to smack him up."

"Oh let me do the honors." Tifa stated and cracks her knuckles, as she marches into the room followed by Aerith, and then Cloud and Mira. On entering, they hear a loud yelp of pain and then yells in surprise, they see the fat man at one corner of the bed wincing in pain and is bewilder on the groups' appearance.

"Wh…what the hell's going on? Where's my lovely swan?" the Don demanded, but cringes back then all four glares at him.

"Shut up, we're asking the questions now…" she snaps. "What did your assistants find out? Talk! If you don't tell us…"

Then Cloud places his left leg on the bed, looking very threatening. "…I'll chop them off." he stated.

"No! Not that! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!" the fat man pleaded and explains that he was ordered to find a man with a gun-arm in the slums.

"By who?" the bar maid demanded.

"No…! If I told you that, I'd be killed!"

"Talk! If you don't tell us…"

"…I'll rip them off." Aerith threaten him with her left leg on the bed and Mira looks at the flower girl with a brow raise. She expected for her to that that, but it still weird her out since the brunette is a flower girl… she then shrugs a bit over it.

"Waaaaaaaaaaah…! It was Heidegger of Shinra! Heidegger, the head of Public Safety Maintenance!" he squealed.

"The head of Public Safety Maintenance!" Cloud said out of surprise.

"Did you say the Shinra! What are they up to! Talk! If you don't tell us…" the bar maid then place her left leg on the bed. "I'll smash them." she threatens.

"…You're serious, aren't you… …ohboy, ohboy, ohboy." he hyperventilate and shakes. "…I'm not fooling around here either, you know. Shinra's trying to crush a small rebel group called AVALANCHE, and want to infiltrate their hideout. But they couldn't find where it is so they decided do the only way to get rid of them."

"What way?" Cloud demanded and Mira is a bit surprise at this… it looks like she got herself a line.

"I can't-"

"Hey." Mira interrupted and he looks at her. "If you don't say… do you really want to know the horrific and mutilating methods I would do on them, it's not exactly nice and sunshine after all." she threaten him, despite the cheery look on her face, her tone is dark and she have an air of something dangerous around her.

With that he squeaks like a frighten mouse and spills everything. "And they're really going to crush them…literally, by breaking the support holding up the plate above them."

"Break the support!" the bar maid yell out in surprise and Cloud and Aerith looks shock that this, while Mira seems to be calm.

'After all, me and Riley have known that this is going to happen.' the songstress thought as she secretly press the record off.

"You know what's going to happen? The plate will go PING and everything's gonna go BAMMM! I heard their hideout's in the Sector 7 Slums... I'm just glad it's not here in Sector 6." he babbled on.

"They're going to wipe out the Sector 7 Slums!" Tifa said and looks at Cloud and Mira. "Cloud, Mira, will you two come with me to Sector 7?"

"Of course." the Ex-SOLDIER replied.

"Same here." Mira stated and they are about to get out, when she remembers that the floor they are going stop on is…

"Just a second!" the Don calls out and they all stop on that 'specific' floor.

"Shut up!" Cloud snaps at him.

"No wait, it'll only take a second." then the songstress notices his hand is slowly reaching for the lever just beside the bed post. "How do you think scum like me feels when they babble on about the truth?"

Cloud is about to say his opinion but Mira quickly interrupts. "They asked a question like that and pulls a cheap trap to delay the ones who learnt the truth." and the Don looks at her with silent shock. "Seriously, that's so cliché." she stated and immediately strikes at the Don with her keytar, knocking him out effectively and preventing him from pulling the lever. '… I just don't want to get sewer stink.' she thought.

"Thanks... but how did you know there's a trap door below us?" Tifa asked.

"… haven't you heard the floor here sounds hollow?" the songstress asked, hoping it would cover up her slip-up. They look at one another and taps the floor with their heels, which turns out to be true… it's sounds hollow. 'I'm safe!' she thought.

"Wow, you have good ears." Aerith said.

"Thanks, but back to the topic, we better mosey to Sector 7 before they drop death on it!" the songstress reminds them quickly, they nod at this and dash out of the mansion heading straight back to Sector 7.

* * *

><p>Silver: I know, it's long! Anyway, I'm planning to make omakes where Cloud is chosen instead and either Mira or Cloud is chosen. It's going to be post along with Riley's side story, and the song! It's Here's to Us by Halestorm but in Glee version! Not mine but belongs to the original artist itself! Read and review!<p> 


	11. Backstage Technicalities

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird does not own Final Fantasy 7, only her OCs… Otherwise, we might end up having a not-so-epic battle with the lawsuits.)

_**Altering Rhythm**_

_**Backstage Technicalities**_

Silver: Now for Riley's side story… and an additional problem just came by smacking on her face!

* * *

><p><strong>Backstage Technicalities<strong>

Running back into Sector 7, instead of heading to the bar, Riley bolts towards the audio tower for one last check of the equipment before she goes on guiding the group to evacuate the civilians instead of fighting. But on arriving there, she suddenly remembers something…

"OH DAMN ON A POPO!" she swears out loud and smacks her head with her right knuckle. "I forgot about Denzel and his parents! They live in Sector 7 above! Aw man…! This is going to be a problem!"

The tower is only set to warn the people below, she doubts if it's loud enough to warn the people living above the plate. Plus it might solidify the fact that AVALANCHE 'intend' to destroy the top plate, since they evacuated the entire Sector 7 Slums. 'Shit! Shit! I'm in a freaking bind now.' she thought as she climbs up the tower. 'Crud… There's got to be a way to also warn the people above!'

Getting into the station, she nearly flip everything inside-out to find a way to warn the people above. "No. Not this. No. Crud, not this either… dang it…" she hisses as she tries to find any way to at least send a warning to them.

"_You're finally here…"_

"Huh?" she stops and looks around, only to see no one and scratches her head. "Weird…"

Back to her problem at hand, she tries again looking for a solution on warning the ones above the plate. She couldn't find one and she slumps at this, as she sets the warning system and the trigger in her phone. She then makes sure that the system works, the sound is loud enough for the people in the slums to hear and the door securely close preventing monsters.

As she is about to leave, she notice something on the ground… 'Eh…? Are those… spikes?" she utters and the yelps as she dodge the spiky thing that bounces at her, out of reflex and surprise.

"Geh!" she yelps and looks at the thing… "Wait… this is a Hedgehog Pie?" she said out of wonder and looks at the spiky-covered ground. Before she could even say anything, a bunch of Hedgehog Pies strikes her with Bodyblow.

Not wanting the tower to get damage, she quickly climbs down to the ground and plans battle the flock from there. "Oh geez!" she yelps as she ducks at another Bodyblow and manage to outrun a fire spell. "Can't you guys be ever patient?" yelling at them as she runs down the stairs.

On reaching the ground, the mime somersaults away from a new fire spell and cast Matra Magic back at them. The creatures snarls back at her and she wonders why a bunch of Hedgehog Pies appeared out of nowhere and ambushes her.

… Then it came to her mind…

"Oi, don't tell me the fat Hedgehog Pie here earlier is your queen or something?"

And that only earns her more growling and snarling from them.

"Aye, I think my day have gone sour…" as she got hit by a Bodyblow for standing still. She yells in pain as the spikes stabs her on the right side, as she skids and maintain her balance. "I know you're immune to fire…" she hiss out. "But I doubt all of you are immune to poison or even silence. Dark Fire!" and she throws a negative status-inflicting flame at them.

Those that are hit shrugs off the flame, but a few feels the poison and the spell laced in it. Those that are hit by poison, slowly collapse and dies. Those that are hit with Silence could not cast fire spells, much to the mime's relief. But it wasn't long till she feels the effect of casting magic too much, after killing some of those creatures and she begins to lose her focus.

'Ugh… this is crap, how many are there?' she thought and yells in pain as she is hit by Bodyblow several times. She fell back and scrambles to get back up. 'Shit…! There is no way I'm going to die here! I got people to save!" as she tries to reach for her potion in her pouch.

Then she feels something odd… she then sees a vision of Cloud doing his Braver Limit Break and Barret's Big shot. The scenes replays in her mind as he body emit's a lavender glow then… Snapping back to reality, she manages to roll away and avoids a few who can still cast fire. 'What was… huh?' she then notice the glow around her body. "Oh my skrits… I'm going to perform a Limit Break!" she yelps and looks back at the Hedgehog Pies as she avoids another Bodyblow.

"Whoa…! Okay…" she then focuses and charges to the remaining Hedgehog Pies. She suddenly jumps high, rises her hands like she's holding a sword and then bought it down on one of the spiky creatures. And on her hands is a negative image of the Buster Sword, then she turns as the blade disappears after successfully cutting the fiend in half. "Slash…" She mutters and then raises her right arm and a negative image of the gun-arm appears on her right arm, and fires it a huge blue flaming fireball at 4 out of 8 Hedgehog Pies. "…and Blast." she said as the fiends she hits, cries out in pain till it succumbs in their wounds and collapse.

Then… she just realizes what she did and her jaws fell open, as the gun-arm vanishes.

"Did I just… mimic Cloud's and Barret's Limit Breaks? In one combined move?" she couldn't believe what she did… she just perform two of her companions Limit Breaks.

Only to be snap back to reality when a poisoned Hedgehog Pie attacks her. "Gah!" she yelps and skids down on the ground, hissing on the new pain she get up and glares at the spike ball creatures as she manages to reach for a potion in her pouch.

"Okay… you're not only so not cute as the hedgehogs in our home…" she stated with a hint of irk in her tone and quickly down a potion. "But I'm in a tight schedule and you're all pissing me off!" she then cast Matra Magic and Lightning in rapid successions. Not only it effectively get rid of the monsters, she feels the side effect casting too much and collapses.

"Ugh… Can't breathe…" she wheezes, as she takes out the ether Mira given to her earlier, during their time with Aerith and Cloud when they head for the gate. Drinking it down, she cringes at the taste of it and nearly spits it out, as the ether takes effect and her focus is back. "Blergh… the potion taste fine, but I didn't expect the ether to taste like this… gross."

She laid down for a moment and breathes in and out, recovering a bit before she sits up. "Ugh… this is nuts…" she utters before she slaps herself awake. "No time for downtime! I better get moving and save Sector 7 and to find a way to warn the plate above!"

She quickly scrambles up, stumbles a bit but makes her way to Seventh Heaven…

"_Why do you care for them…?"_

**:::^*^:::**

Arriving in the bar, she bangs the door quite loud, it causes the AVALANCHE to jump in surprise. "What the hell? Ya-" before even Barret could finish.

"Why the heck is Tifa, wearing a skimpy-looking dress and is on a cart which Don Corneo owns in Wall Market?" the mime demands, using it as an excuse on banging the door too loud and her rush.

"You saw her?" Jessie asked and nervously avoids looking at Barret, who fumes on hearing that she went after the fat perv. Looking at the brunette rebel, Riley guessed that she's the one who helped and provided Tifa the needed disguise.

"I told her not to go after that perv!" the gun-arm man stated angrily and as he shakes his fist.

"… Well, anyway, Meer and I found Cloud, he's still alive thanks to a new friend." the mime said the news to them and the three seems to brighten up, as Barret looks calm… 'Well inside he's relief….' she thought. "But we end up splitting when we saw Tifa, so both Meer and Cloud heads to the Wall Market to get her."

"Oh, that's a relief…" Jessie breathes out.

Then the mime notices something… they are armed and looks ready to fight. "Another mission?" she asked.

"No… we're saving Sector 7." Wedge stated.

"Eh? What's going on?" although she knows what's going on, she couldn't help but to ask. Jessie explains to her about the spy they caught loitering around and made Tifa go to the Don for answers. After squeezing out more information from the spy, they are horrified on learning that Shinra plans to drop the entire plate of Sector 7 just to get rid of them.

"That company is crazy!" Riley bellowed and they agree to this.

"Yeah, that's why we're going to the pillar to defend it from those Turks." Barret said, and with a click he loaded his gun-arm. "Come on."

"Wait…!" Riley calls out and they turn to her. 'Time to put a proper strategy in motion.' she thought and looks at them with little hints of authority. "We're just going to the pillar and defend it? All of us?" she asked.

"Yeah, what of it?" the black man asked.

"You're not much of a leader, are you?" she quips, crossing her arms.

"WHAT?"

"Look, I'm not insulting you or anything, but you have to think of a better plans, some back-up plans and the consequences that will happen after it."

"There's no time to think for that!"

"What? Can't think while walking? Seriously!" the mime shakes her head. "Anyway, to the point, I don't think all of us should go to the pillar."

"What! Why?" Biggs asked incredulously.

"The spy said they sent the Turks in to bring the plate down, have you heard their reputations?" she looks at them. "Despite not mako-enhance, they are sneaky and use cheap tricks to kill their targets. Can you all stand against the president's guards with back-stabbing history?"

Everyone is silent…

"She is right…" Jessie whispered and her male companions looks at her. "There's no way we can fight against them."

"What! Tis ain't the time to chicken out!" the AVALANCHE leader shouts and looks at her, with his gun-arm in front of her face. "And you, this is my order, if you're chickening out you're free to get the hell out of my face!"

"Don't use muscle for brains, you!" she snaps back, resisting the urge to take out her Humanitarian book and smack it on his face. "Have you even think of the number of troopers coming in with them? There are only five of us right now and Shinra got a hundred in it's disposal! Do you think changing in and fighting for the tower is a sensible plan?"

"You…!"

"Listen, I got a better plan." she said and calmly pushes the gun-arm away from her. "Although it will not stop the plate from dropping but it is safer and more effective than fighting to the death."

The black man looks at her before grunting and lowers his gun-arm. "Fine… what is your plan?"

"You and I…" Riley points at Barret and herself. "Will delay the Turks from destroying the pillar, the rest will evacuate the people out of Sector 7."

"What?" the three protested.

"LOOK! This is a different situation!" she yells back at them. "Not only if we fail to stop them from dropping the plate, we'll lose hundreds or even thousands of lives both in the slums and the plate above! This is not like the missions we have before, this is intentionally killing innocents just to get rid of us! Do you understand?"

"… Awright…" Barret stated and looks at the others. "We'll do your plan."

"Thanks for listening." the mime said in a calm tone and looks at them. "Okay, the train is probably out of service since they are planning to drop the plate, so get all of the civilians and bring them to the Wall market or Sector 5."

"You know something…" the mime looks at Wedge. "You're weird… you're silly, loud and so active when we first met you, but now…"

"Hey, I got a lot of sides of me but in the face of this situation, have to go serious and use some sense to get out of this alive." she quips.

They nodded at this and heads out to do their task, Riley is about to follow when her phone went off with the song Fireworks by Katie Perry. She nearly jumps at this and quickly answers her phone, before any one would wonder what it is. "Moshi moshi…?" she answers as she goes to one corner of the bar to conceal the phone.

"Riley, quit the Japanese and talk sense here." Mira said through the phone.

"Mira! How's the girl's day out doing? And did you record it? And… I am surprise… that you can call me…" she stated dumbfounded as she slowly realizes that her best friend is calling with their touch phones_._

"Well, I'm surprise that there's signal here and I can't stay long, the battery is now half since you wanted to record the cross-dressing thing… Anyway, I'm lagging behind the others, how are things there?"

"It's going smoothly, the audio tower is set and I manage to convince the AVALANCHE to evacuate the people instead of fighting for the pillar... but we got another problem, we forgot about the people above the plate in Sector 7."

"... Ah skrit...! I forgot about Denzel! Crap... Anyway, me and the others will be there soon. You and I will try to figure out how to warn the others above the plate."

"Got it... so, are you guys in the train graveyard?"

"… We didn't fell into the sewers."

"… Mira…!" the mime groans on the change her best friend made. "You prevented Cloud and the others from falling into the sewers?"

"Hey…!" the songstress hissed back. "Mind you, we're preventing a disaster here!"

"Okay! Okay! Geez, don't make a fuss… so after this…"

"We're heading for the company… but in order to do that we have to…"

"Don't remind me… I swear, if I see Tseng slap Aerith on the face, on our next meeting I will not hesitate on bombarding him with Matra Magic."

"Riley… he does slap her on the face, it's in the script."

"I know! But I can't help it!"

"Right… Oh geez… I have to go, the Don's men is blocking our way again."

"Be careful."

"Same to you."

With that, she ends the call and runs out of the bar to start their plans.

"… _They are not worth it…"_

She stops for a moment and looks around once more… 'That's… creepy…' she thinks as she snaps her focus back and heads to the pillar where Barret is.

**:::^*^:::**

The Shinra Electric Power Company…

It is the only company that exist in Gaia, and the only where it combines politics and business.

The people who have heard of the company, came from far-away town/villages and decided to venture there with dreams and hope on their sleeves… but on arriving there, most of it are flushed away.

Those who the higher-ups deem worthy, they give them the proper positions and good pay as they exploits their talents behind their backs. But to those who doesn't pique their interest, they merely toss them to a low-paying job or did not hire them at all causing them to seek refuge in the slums. All of the higher-ups think and wanted… is power and money and to do that, they seek a place called the Promised Land.

Among the higher-ups is the head of the Science Research Division, Professor Hojo. He shuffles to his office with the papers in his hands, trying to figure out the strange energy spike somewhere in the wasteland and the odd behavior of his prized specimen.

On one report, the strange energy spike in the wasteland, it is rather strong and there is no equipment that is stable enough that could make that powerful effect. Yet it is contained and almost went unnoticed, if it weren't for their equipment sensing it. But that wasn't all… it wasn't one… but two energy spikes that occur at the same time and the same place. The scientist is irk on the fact that he couldn't figure out what caused the spikes and how it is done.

And on the other, states that JENOVA gain very little activity by twitching one of her eyes. This surprises him since she doesn't have any activity since Sephiroth's death, and what interests him is the energy spikes happens on the very same day as his prized specimen gain little of her motor cortex.

"Um… sir?"

The head looks up, annoyed at being interrupted and merely focuses back in the reports, with very little interest on what his staff is going to say.

"T-the specimen…" the staff stutters. "H-her eyes… they're g-glowing sir."

And it didn't take long for the info to sink in. "What!" and he made a dash to the laboratory like a madman he is. Entering the facility, the rest of the staffs jumps in surprise of his sudden appearance as he marches to the container, just beside another one with a different specimen. But he completely ignores it and focuses his attention on his most wonderful possession… and there he sees the eyes glowing purplish-pink. This made him freeze in wonder and awe before the glow stops, reverting back to it's normal and still state.

'What… what made you…?' then he remembers the energy spikes and turns to his staffs. "You! I want a full report on the sudden activity of this specimen!" as he points at one of his staffs, who squeaks out of surprise. "And you! Get some researchers and go to the wasteland! Find out what caused the energy spike a few days ago!" causing the said staff to nearly drop the equipment.

"As for the rest… make you any changes on this specimen will report to me! Understand!" he ordered loudly, causing everyone to scramble to work.

And then… he merely leans on the tank containing his prized and grandest experiment of all. Anticipation and glee forms on his face…he can't wait to know what made his prize so active.

* * *

><p>Silver: Uh oh… Hojo is on a mad spree of finding out the strange incident and his specimen's sudden consciousness. Yeah… it is short, don't blame me, this is all I could think of for Riley's side. Anyway… the… OMAKE OF CROSSPLAY! XD!<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Omake Crossplay: If Cloud is chosen? <strong>

Both Tifa and Mira have to pull and drag a stun 'Claire' to get to the office, once arriving in there…

"All right ladies! Line up in front of the Don!" one of his lackey ordered the four and they line up in front of the table. Both Mira and Cloud are in the middle of the line, and Tifa and Aerith are on the ends. And there, Mira saw what the Don looks like…

'Oh man… have he not heard of exercise? Or Facial wash? Ewww! His face is oily! Not to mention his Mohawk is a mess.' the songstress thought as she restrains herself from saying it out loud.

"Hmmm!" The Don mutters and leans on the table to look at the four. "Good, splendid!" he stated with glee and the songstress have to stomp her disgust and annoyance, not to blow their cover. "Now, let's see…" Standing up from his table and looks at the girls closely, one by one. "Which girl should I choose?" he looks at Aerith. "Hmm-hmm-!" then looks at Cloud who looks away to hide his glowing eyes. "This one?" then looks at Mira, who restraint her urge to smack the Don with her keytar. "Or this one?" he eyes on Tifa then he looks at Cloud again, only he looks away once more.

"Woo hoo, I've made up my mind! My choice for tonight is… GAH! I'm still in a dilemma!" he then turns around and leans on he table like he have a heart attack.

'… Oookay… this wasn't suppose to happen.' the songstress thought. 'Not that I mind the slight delay.'

"These two!" the fat boss stated and points at Mira and Cloud, who slightly panics on this. The blonde opted to beat him out right now, but she stops him by holding his hand and squeezing it for him to relax. "These two beauties… the healthy-looking girl looks so attractive and naïve, it's so cute!" the blonde got irk on the last part, while the songstress have to restrain on laughing. "And this lovely swan looks so mysterious yet mesmerizing, almost if I take her she'll vanish the next day!"

The ravenette stares incredulously at the fat guy and on how he describes her. 'Weirdness… wait, don't tell me that he sees something off about me…?' she thought with a bit of panic there.

"Argh…! Yes! I made up my mind! I pick…!"

He then kneels in front of the blonde and looks at 'her', totally love-struck. "This healthy-looking girl!"

Mira is able to relax a bit as she felt Cloud jerk back in shock.

"Wa, wait a sec!" he yelped, then realizes that he nearly blown his cover by his voice, not that he cared and would rather beat the man for info. "I mean, uh, please wait a moment!" his attempt of making his voice sound feminine, causes the songstress to stare at him.

'Is it me… or does he sounds like Suzaku Kururugi in the audio episode where they have a cross-dressing festival…?' she thought and then added. 'Then again they do have the same voice actor in Japanese…'

Unfortunately for Cloud, luck is not on his side. "Woo-hoo! I love chickies who play hard-to-get! Yeowza!" the Don stated rubbing his hands together and looks at his men. "You can have the other ones!"

"Yes sir! Thank you sir!" his lackeys saluted, looking thrill to have fun with the remaining three girls.

"Well then…" the Don looks back at 'Claire'. "Shall we go my pretty?"

Giving one more look at the three, which they nodded at him, the blonde slumps and follows the fat man to his bedroom.

**:::^*^:::**

Meanwhile…

Since they are not chosen, Aerith and Mira are taken to the Lounge while Tifa is taken away by one of Don Corneo's men to the torture room.

"Hey guys! We've got guests." The lackey, if Mira remembers correctly, named Scotch announces as they follow him. Inside are the other minions of the Don, looks up and then a wolfish smile forms on their faces with a hint of lust in their eyes. "We'll take REAL good care of you." Scotch said as he closes the door and another man stands near it, as he goes to one corner of the room. "This is all thanks to the big boss, Don Corneo! Heeey! Three cheers for Don Corneo!"

The men cheer happily and turns to the two.

"Aerith." Mira whispered.

"Yeah?" Aerith replied.

"I have an idea, but I need you to stay behind me and cover your ears, understand?" the songstress instructed

"Heh, heh... Well ladies, are we, uh, all ready?" Scotch asked.

"Excuse me?" Mira calls out and he turns at her. "You wouldn't mind listening to a bit of music, if you like?"

"Oooh? It seems we got a lovely songbird in our midst." Scotch stated lightly with delight. "Sure, sure, stand right here and let us hear your lovely voice."

'Oh… this songbird is going to sing you to sleep.' she though, as she and the flower girl moves to where Scotch is standing and she sets her keytar on guitar setting. She gives one look on Aerith, who nodded in return, and begins to sing.

We could just go home right now

Or maybe we could stick around

For just one more drink.

Oh yeah.

She sings.

Get another bottle out

Let's shoot the breeze, sit back down

For just one more drink.

Oh yeah.

Here's to us.

Here's to love.

All the times that we've messed up.

Here's to you.

Fill the glass.

Cuz the last few days have gone too fast.

Oh let's give 'em hell.

Wish everybody well.

Here's to us.

Here's to us.

Then loud and mixed snores are heard and with a grin, she sees all of them have fallen to sleep. Aerith looks surprise on this and looks at Mira. "That's amazing! You put them to sleep! What kind of magic is that?" she asked.

Mira chuckles lightly. "It's Lullaby, it's a skill where I lace status-effect magic in my songs and my dances. It's still new to me since I only found this keytar a month ago when I visited my village death anniversary." she lied the last part.

"Oh I'm sorry." the flower girl looks down.

"Anyway… we better change clothes cause I don't think we'll be fighting properly in this." the songstress stated, changing the subject and the brunette nods in agreement. Before they change, Mira have to make sure no one is looking and finds a good place to hide and change. Once they change in their normal clothes, Tifa comes bursting in and she looks at the room with surprise.

"Whoa… what happened here?" she asked.

"Ah, Mira sang them to sleep." Aerith stated cheerily as the songstress scratches the back of her head.

"Really?" Tifa asked.

"Yeah, but we better scoot or Cloud's masculinity will drop down a notch!" with that she book to the office with Tifa and Aerith trailing behind.

On arriving at the bedroom's door, the songstress finds it lock. "Great… hold on." she then looks at Tifa. "Hey, can you kick the door down?"

**:::^*^:::**

Cloud is in quite of a dilemma, despite the slip of his voice, the greasy perv still believe him to be female and is trying to get him to bed. Right now, he is stomping on his sick feeling growing in his stomach to prevent vomiting spot on.

"Come to daddy!" the Don declared but the blonde made no move from his spot. The disguised male wishes for anyone to barge in the doors… but hearing none, he reluctantly walks towards the Don. When they are a few inches apart… "You are so cute, I never get tired looking at you. Do you like me too?"

"Umm…." Cloud hesitated and is stomping repeatedly on his sick feeling.

"Don't you like me? Is there someone else, is there?" the Don asked when…

The blonde tilts his head on the door and hears a noise outside, even from this distance, he can tell what the noise is… and his mouth twitch upwards a bit. He decided to put on a little act as he suppresses his disgust.

"No, only you."

"You sure know how to make a guy feel good!" the perv stated with lust and looks at the blonde. "Then wh… what do you want to DO?"

"Whatever YOU want, daddy." the blonde replies, in a oh-so fake high pitch feminine voice… yet he wonders why the Don couldn't figure out that he's male since he sounds so fake.

"Oh man! I can't stand it! All right, then..." Don Corneo suddenly jumps to the edge of the bed and leans towards the blonde. "Give me a kiss! A KISS!"

Now this is where Cloud draws on the line. "Nope, can't do that.…" as he turns away.

"Why? WHY? WHY?" the Don said dumbfounded and disbelief that 'she' just rejected what he wanted.

"Because..." And looks back with a fiery glare from his eyes. "Because I'm gonna have to use that mouth of yours to give me some information!" he then jumps back and whips out the dress, revealing the uniform beneath and his true identity.

"A man! You tricked me!" the mob boss shouts. "Somebody get in here NOW!"

"Unfortunately, no one'll be comin' to help." A voice calls out and Tifa kicks down the door, as both Mira and Aerith comes tailing in.

'This feels like Charlie's Angels…' Mira thought weirdly as she arms her Orchestra Ai.

"Wh…what the hell's going on?" the Don demanded, but cringes back then all four glares at him.

"Shut up, we're asking the questions now…" Tifa snaps. "What did your assistants find out? Talk! If you don't tell us…"

Then Cloud places his left leg on the bed, looking very threatening. "…I'll chop them off." he stated.

"No! Not that! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!" the fat man pleaded and explains that he was ordered to find a man with a gun-arm in the slums.

"By who?" the bar maid demanded.

"No…! If I told you that, I'd be killed!"

"Talk! If you don't tell us…"

"…I'll rip them off." Aerith threaten him with her left leg on the bed and Mira looks at the flower girl with a brow raise. She expected for her to that that, but it still weird her out since the brunette is a flower girl… she then shrugs a bit over it.

"Waaaaaaaaaaah…! It was Heidegger of Shinra! Heidegger, the head of Public Safety Maintenance!" he squealed.

"The head of Public Safety Maintenance!" Cloud said out of surprise.

"Did you say the Shinra! What are they up to! Talk! If you don't tell us…" the bar maid then place her left leg on the bed. "I'll smash them." she threatens.

"…You're serious, aren't you… …ohboy, ohboy, ohboy." he hyperventilate and shakes. "…I'm not fooling around here either, you know. Shinra's trying to crush a small rebel group called AVALANCHE, and want to infiltrate their hideout. But they couldn't find where it is so they decided do the only way to get rid of them."

"What way?" Cloud demanded and Mira is a bit surprise at this… it looks like she got herself a line.

"I can't-"

"Hey." Mira interrupted and he looks at her. "If you don't say… do you really want to know the horrific and mutilating methods I would do on them, it's not exactly nice and sunshine after all." she threaten him, despite the cheery look on her face, her tone is dark and she have an air of something dangerous around her.

With that he squeaks like a frighten mouse and spills everything. "And they're really going to crush them…literally, by breaking the support holding up the plate above them."

"Break the support!" the bar maid yell out in surprise and Cloud and Aerith looks shock that this, while Mira seems to be calm.

'After all, me and Riley have known that this is going to happen.' the songstress thought as she secretly press the record off.

"You know what's going to happen? The plate will go PING and everything's gonna go

BAMMM! I heard their hideout's in the Sector 7 Slums... I'm just glad it's not here in Sector 6." he babbled on.

"They're going to wipe out the Sector 7 Slums!" Tifa said and looks at Cloud and Mira. "Cloud, Mira, will you two come with me to Sector 7?"

"Of course, Tifa." the Ex-SOLDIER replied.

"Same here." Mira stated and they are about to get out, when she remembers that the floor they are going stop on is…

"Just a second!" the Don calls out and they all stop on that 'specific' floor.

"Shut up!" Cloud snaps at him.

"No wait, it'll only take a second." then the songstress notices his hand is slowly reaching for the lever just beside the bed post. "How do you think scum like me feels when they babble on about the truth?"

Cloud is about to say his opinion but Mira quickly interrupts. "They asked a question like that and pulls a cheap trap to delay the ones who learnt the truth." and the Don looks at her with silent shock. "Seriously, that's so cliché." she stated and immediately strikes at the Don with her keytar, knocking him out effectively and preventing him from pulling the lever. '… I just don't want to get sewer stink.' she thought.

"Thanks, but how did you know there's a trap door below us?" Tifa asked.

"… haven't you heard the floor in this area sounds hollow?" the songstress asked, hoping it would cover up her slip-up. They look at one another and taps the floor with their heels, which turns out to be true… it's sounds hollow. 'I'm safe!' she thought.

"Wow, you have good ears." Aerith said.

"Thanks, but back to the topic, we better mosey to Sector 7 before they drop death on it!" the songstress reminds them quickly, they nod at this and dash out of the mansion heading straight back to Sector 7.

* * *

><p><strong>If neither Cloud or Mira is chosen…<strong>

Both Tifa and Mira have to pull and drag a stun 'Claire' to get to the office, once arriving in there…

"All right ladies! Line up in front of the Don!" one of his lackey ordered the four and they line up in front of the table. Both Mira and Cloud are in the middle of the line, and Tifa and Aerith are on the ends. And there, Mira saw what the Don looks like…

'Oh man… have he not heard of exercise? Or Facial wash? Ewww! His face is oily! Not to mention his Mohawk is a mess.' the songstress thought as she restrains herself from saying it out loud.

"Hmmm!" The Don mutters and leans on the table to look at the four. "Good, splendid!" he stated with glee and the songstress have to stomp her disgust and annoyance, not to blow their cover. "Now, let's see…" Standing up from his table and looks at the girls closely, one by one. "Which girl should I choose?" he looks at Aerith. "Hmm-hmm-!" then looks at Cloud who looks away to hide his glowing eyes. "This one?" then looks at Mira, who restraint her urge to smack the Don with her keytar. "Or this one?" he eyes on Tifa then he looks at Cloud again, only he looks away once more.

"Woo hoo, I've made up my mind! My choice for tonight is…" He then zooms right at Tifa, totally love-struck. "This little beauty!"

"Fu, fu, fu… be nice, Don." Tifa said with fake sweetness, as the Don stated rubbing his hands together and looks at his men. "You can have the other ones!"

"Yes sir! Thank you sir!" his lackeys saluted, looking thrill to have fun with the remaining three girls.

"Well then…" the Don looks back at Tifa. "Shall we go my pretty?"

Giving a look at the three, which they nodded back at her, the bar maid follows the fat man to his bedroom.

**:::^*^:::**

Meanwhile…

Since they are not chosen, Cloud and Mira are taken to the Lounge while Aerith is taken away by one of Don Corneo's men to the torture room.

"Hey guys! We've got guests." The lackey, if Mira remembers correctly, named Scotch announces as they follow him. Inside are the other minions of the Don, looks up and then a wolfish smile forms on their faces with a hint of lust in their eyes. "We'll take REAL good care of you." Scotch said as he closes the door and another man stands near it, as he goes to one corner of the room. "This is all thanks to the big boss, Don Corneo! Heeey! Three cheers for Don Corneo!"

The men cheer happily and turns to the two.

"Cloud." Mira whispered.

"What is it?" the blonde replied.

"I have an idea, but I need you to stay behind me and cover your ears, understand?" the songstress instructed, and he stares at her before agreeing to it.

"Heh, heh... Well ladies, are we, uh, all ready?" Scotch asked.

"Excuse me?" Mira calls out and he turns at her. "You wouldn't mind listening to a bit of music, if you like?"

"Oooh? It seems we got a lovely songbird in our midst." Scotch stated lightly with delight. "Sure, sure, stand right here and let us hear your lovely voice."

'Oh… this songbird is going to sing you to sleep.' she though, as she and 'Claire' moves to where Scotch is standing and she sets her keytar on guitar setting. She gives one look on 'her', who nodded in return, and begins to sing.

We could just go home right now

Or maybe we could stick around

For just one more drink.

Oh yeah.

She sings.

Get another bottle out

Let's shoot the breeze, sit back down

For just one more drink.

Oh yeah.

Here's to us.

Here's to love.

All the times that we've messed up.

Here's to you.

Fill the glass.

Cuz the last few days have gone too fast.

Oh let's give 'em hell.

Wish everybody well.

Here's to us.

Here's to us.

Then loud and mixed snores are heard and with a grin, she sees all of them have fallen to sleep. Cloud look like a gaping fish on this and looks at Mira, who chuckles lightly. "This is a good way of knocking them out without resorting to violence!" she chirps.

"How in the-?" but the blonde is cut off when Mira suggested to changes clothes and go after Tifa, before she looses it. Agreeing to it, they find a place to change privately, which Cloud goes first on changing and Mira followed after. Once they are done changing, they rush out of the room and is about to head to the office…

"No…! Help!" the two looks at one another before rushing to where Aerith is. There they saw a comical sight of cat and mouse. Then when Aerith climbs the stair with Don's lackey tailing behind her, she turns and pushes him causes him to roll down the stairs.

"Aerith!" they both called and Mira came to the flower girl's side.

"Nice push there… a little mean but it is necessary." the songstress quips.

"Are you okay?" Cloud asked.

"I told you, I'm used to danger… to tell the truth, my heart is beating fast on that one." Aerith pants then straightens up. Nodding at this, they quickly head to the office where the bedroom is located.

On arriving at the bedroom's door, the songstress finds it lock. "Great… hold on." she then looks at Cloud. "Hey, can you slice the door down?"

**:::^*^:::**

Sitting on the bed and a few inches away from the mob boss… "Woo hoo! Come, come, don't be shy…"

"I know..." She then looks at him. "But you know, Don Corneo, I'd like you to explain something before we start..."

But it seems he thought of something else. "Hm? Oh, you mean about THAT? Don't worry. I'm single. There, feel better now?" he said reassuringly at her, as he wiggle his hips.

"No... I'm not asking about that... Wa... wait a minute! No, not yet!" Tifa tries to stop him from going at her.

"Come! Come! Aooooooh! I can't wait any longer! Here comes papa!"

Suddenly, she hears the door got slice into half and Cloud, Mira and Aerith comes charging in. "Cloud!" she is relief to see them, then quickly hops out of the way as the Don attempts to glomp her.

"Wha... what the hell? Who goes there?" the mob boss demanded, seeing three new occupants in his room. Then the bar maid quickly changes into her normal clothes, which made Mira wonder how she did that…

'I doubt she have a dress-sphere, that's in FFX-2!' the songstress thought, as she arms her instrument.

"You still don't get it do you, Don Corneo?" the bar maid points out.

"Get what?" the Don asked, but cringes back then all four glares at him.

"Shut up, we're asking the questions now…" she snaps. "What did your assistants find out? Talk! If you don't tell us…"

Then Cloud places his left leg on the bed, looking very threatening. "…I'll chop them off." he stated.

"No! Not that! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!" the fat man pleaded and explains that he was ordered to find a man with a gun-arm in the slums.

"By who?" the bar maid demanded.

"No…! If I told you that, I'd be killed!"

"Talk! If you don't tell us…"

"…I'll rip them off." Aerith threaten him with her left leg on the bed and Mira looks at the flower girl with a brow raise. She expected for her to that that, but it still weird her out since the brunette is a flower girl… she then shrugs a bit over it.

"Waaaaaaaaaaah…! It was Heidegger of Shinra! Heidegger, the head of Public Safety Maintenance!" he squealed.

"The head of Public Safety Maintenance!" Cloud said out of surprise.

"Did you say the Shinra! What are they up to! Talk! If you don't tell us…" the bar maid then place her left leg on the bed. "I'll smash them." she threatens.

"…You're serious, aren't you… …ohboy, ohboy, ohboy." he hyperventilate and shakes. "…I'm not fooling around here either, you know. Shinra's trying to crush a small rebel group called AVALANCHE, and want to infiltrate their hideout. But they couldn't find where it is so they decided do the only way to get rid of them."

"What way?" Cloud demanded and Mira is a bit surprise at this… it looks like she got herself a line.

"I can't-"

"Hey." Mira interrupted and he looks at her. "If you don't say… do you really want to know the horrific and mutilating methods I would do on them, it's not exactly nice and sunshine after all." she threaten him, despite the cheery look on her face, her tone is dark and she have an air of something dangerous around her.

With that he squeaks like a frighten mouse and spills everything. "And they're really going to crush them…literally, by breaking the support holding up the plate above them."

"Break the support!" the bar maid yell out in surprise and Cloud and Aerith looks shock that this, while Mira seems to be calm.

'After all, me and Riley have known that this is going to happen.' the songstress thought as she secretly press the record off.

"You know what's going to happen? The plate will go PING and everything's gonna go

BAMMM! I heard their hideout's in the Sector 7 Slums... I'm just glad it's not here in Sector 6." he babbled on.

"They're going to wipe out the Sector 7 Slums!" Tifa said and looks at Cloud and Mira. "Cloud, Mira, will you two come with me to Sector 7?"

"Of course, Tifa." the Ex-SOLDIER replied.

"Same here." Mira stated and they are about to get out, when she remembers that the floor they are going stop on is…

"Just a second!" the Don calls out and they all stop on that 'specific' floor.

"Shut up!" Cloud snaps at him.

"No wait, it'll only take a second." then the songstress notices his hand is slowly reaching for the lever just beside the bed post. "How do you think scum like me feels when they babble on about the truth?"

Cloud is about to say his opinion but Mira quickly interrupts. "They asked a question like that and pulls a cheap trap to delay the ones who learnt the truth." and the Don looks at her with silent shock. "Seriously, that's so cliché." she stated and immediately strikes at the Don with her keytar, knocking him out effectively and preventing him from pulling the lever. '… I just don't want to get sewer stink.' she thought.

"Thanks, but how did you know there's a trap door below us?" Tifa asked.

"… haven't you heard the floor in this area sounds hollow?" the songstress asked, hoping it would cover up her slip-up. They look at one another and taps the floor with their heels, which turns out to be true… it's sounds hollow. 'I'm safe!' she thought.

"Wow, you have good ears." Aerith said.

"Thanks, but back to the topic, we better mosey to Sector 7 before they drop death on it!" the songstress reminds them quickly, they nod at this and dash out of the mansion heading straight back to Sector 7.

* * *

><p>Silver: And there we have it, the two scenes if Cloud is chosen or neither of them are chosen. But what if Kotch have taken Mira to the torture room…? It's simple, she'll use Darkness Dance and then smack him on the head with her keytar, while blind. Read and review!<p> 


	12. Plate ALERT

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird does not own Final Fantasy 7, only her OCs… Otherwise, we might end up having a not-so-epic battle with the lawsuits.)

_**Altering Rhythm**_

_**Plate ALERT**_

Silver: Here we go! Making a change in 3... 2... 1... Now!

* * *

><p><strong>Plate ALERT<strong>

Meeting up with the AVALANCHE outside for a moment…

"Okay, Wedge I want you to evacuate the people around the Seventh Heaven Area, also get Marlene to the playground in Sector 6." she stated firmly.

"Eh? In the playground?" he asked.

"Mira managed to contract me and she got a friend who can bring her to Sector 5 where it is most safe." she explains.

"Is this friend of yours trustworthy?" Barret asked, looking a bit skeptical on entrusting his daughter to someone unknown.

"Yeah, she's very nice if you meet her." the mime quips. "Next, Jessie, you evacuate the people who are in the middle of the slums. And Biggs, try getting the people from the far side."

"But… will they believe that Shinra is dropping the plate and we're trying to save them?" Wedge asked and on cue a group of Aero Combatant came flying in and heading for the pillar.

"Does that answer your question?" she deadpan at him, then quickly snaps back that them. "Alright! Stick to the plan! And if I see any of you fighting on the tower instead of helping people, I will personally kick your butts off it!"

"Hey! I'm leader!" the black man protested.

"Sorry bout that, but you're not much of a strategist." she quips, then she turns and runs to the tower with the black man tailing as the rest follows their orders. But as she and Barret goes there… 'This is suicide… I'm crazy on actually going with Barret and fighting against Shinra… Then again, to make a change, make the loudest noise ever.' she thought as she press down her feelings.

And arriving at the tower… 'Oh… I may have no complaints on this… but I think Mira is going to go nuts on how tall this thing is.' taking a deep breath and looks at Barret. "Make sure your team stays at the bottom and helping others."

"What about the Turk?" he asked, as he cock his gun-arm.

"Mira said that they are on their way here, just a bit delayed from the mob boss' lackeys." she quips and takes out her dagger. And tries to unlock the gate by the side… but she yelps when it is blasted away by Barret. "Hey! Have you heard 'being subtle'?" she shrieks at him.

"Yer taking too long." he stated and runs up the tower with gun-arm blazing.

She blows her bangs a bit and sighs… 'Really…' she thought and checks her phone. "Everything is set… all we need are the rest of the acts." she whispered before pocketing it and chases after the AVALANCHE leader.

**:::^*^:::**

"Ugh… don't you ever get that we're not that interested!" Mira yells at the Don's lackeys as she cast lightning at them. Then she is suddenly yank back by Cloud as he thrust his blade at one of them going for her side. The enemy squeaks at the blade being pointed in between his eyes and fell on the ground, scrambling to retreat. "Um… thanks Cloud." she said.

"Try to be careful." he stated as she let her go and turns to see Tifa just knockout one on her side while Aeris smartly hit one of them with her staff. After beating down most of them, they reach the gate where they saw Wedge and Marlene, the latter is hiding in the slide while the other helps a few people out.

"What's going on here?" Tifa asked.

"Teef! Cloud! Mira! You're okay!" Wedge shouts happily as he runs and stops in front of them. "Am I glad to see you in one piece."

"Thanks but what's happening?" the bar maid asked, as the little girl came out and hugs her in relief.

"Barret manage to squeeze more information out of the spy and we learned that Shinra is planning to drop the plate." he explains, as Jessie came by and helps an elderly couple with some kids out to, then directs them to Wall Market where it is safe. "We're helping the people to evacuate the people out of the sector, as Riley and Barret goes to distract the troops and the Turks to give us some time to get the people out."

"Wait… we're not fighting for our home?" the bar maid asked, looking incredulously at him.

"Ummm… the plan is to get the people out to safety and get out of Sector 7 as soon as possible…" Wedge stated, fiddling his fingers together.

"This is our home! We can't just abandon it!" she scolded him. "Did Barret told you to do this?"

"No, Riley did with good reasons." he replied meekly, as the bar maid stares with shock at him.

'Ooh boy… are people in this world in this timeline are that materialistic? Seriously!' Mira thinks and have to step in for the poor guy. "Tifa, I think that this is a good plan." she stated.

"What…?" The bar maid looks at her with disbelief. "Mira! Sector 7 is our home!"

"I know, but it would make sense to get out of this place as much as possible." the songstress stated in a obvious tone. "I mean, what if we lose and the whole thing drop on them?"

"It will not happen!" she shouts back with a fierce stare on the songstress, cause the other to be taken aback for a moment there and Marlene to take shelter in Aerith's arms. "I will not allow anyone to lose a home or a family anymore! That's why we have to fight back!"

Snapping back from being stun, the songstress glares back with an equal fiery glare and is ready to talk back some sense. She knew Tifa have experienced losing everything in the Nibelheim Incident, but that is clouding her judgment right now. "Oh? And have you not considered the situation here?" she then heard incoming rotors and then points up at incoming group of Aero Combatants heading for the pillar. "Do you think we can take out that many? There are only eight of us in this group and I doubt we can get rid of them!"

"We have Cloud! He's a SOLDIER before!"

"Sure, he's enhance! But what about the rest of us?" she waves at all of them. "Do you think fighting to the death is a sensible plan to save Sector 7?"

"ENOUGH!" Cloud snaps at them and stands between the two. "You two better stop or-"

"I'M NOT YET DONE, CLOUD!" Mira snaps back louder at him and he stares back at her with shock… he never seen her pissed-off before. And Marlene clings tightly on the flower girl, afraid and shock to see Mira like this.

Taking in a sharp breath and looks back at Tifa, if she's going to make a change and help both Cloud and Aerith, she'll start with her. "Tifa." she said sharply. "One question: What would you like? To fight for the plate and if lose kills thousands of innocent lives? Or to help get the people out and if lose, we still manages to save the people?"

"What…?" the bar maid utters.

"Tifa, you can rebuilt any lost home or property…" the songstress states, then walks towards the gate but stops a bit. "But you cannot bring back lives that are lost." she then runs ahead of the group, leaving them stun on her speech.

"She's right…" a voice speaks up, snapping out to their stupor and they look at Aerith, who is smiling a bit as she holds and calms the frighten little girl. "She's right." she states again with a gentle tone and a small smile.

**:::^*^:::**

Sighing… "Well… I should have taken account on this." the songstress states and looks up at the pillar's stairs. She inflates her cheeks out of annoyance and before blowing her bangs. "Might as well consider this a crash course for the incoming climb to floor 59."

"Mira!" a familiar voice called and she turns to see Tifa and Cloud running to her. She also noted that Aerith is gone, which means she have taken Marlene back to her home… and then Tseng will…

"I… I'm sorry." Tifa apologizes and looks down. "I should've thought of other possibilities."

The ravenette blinks before smiling a bit at her. "It's okay, it's not that serious, but we better get up there and try to see if we could help Barret and Riley on holding up the fort." she said with a little cheer in her voice and they look at her strangely. "What?"

"Nothing… let's hurry." the blonde stated and begins to climb the stairs with Tifa following behind. Scratching her head, she shrugs it off before she too follows them.

"By the way, where's Aerith?" Mira asked, acting like she wonder why the flower girl is missing.

"I asked her to take Marlene to safe place!" the bar maid replies and the songstress seems to nod at it.

As they climb, they fights against the incoming Aero Combatants, Cloud manages to slash one down and Mira pushes one away from them. Tifa is forced to jump or cast magic to strike back at them, since they are practically out of her reach. After they climbed about four or five flight of stairs…

"Cloud! Wait!" Tifa calls out and the blonde turns to see… Mira panting and supporting herself by her knees, as Tifa is by her side and helping her up.

"Ugh… Crud this thing is tall." the songstress swears.

"Mira, are you okay?" Tifa asked, concern on her as she supports her up.

"Don't ever ask such a standard question." she stated annoyingly and trudge on, only to have Cloud stop her by holding her shoulders.

"Mira, you're tired." he stated and helps her up. "I know you want to help Riley, but I can't have you collapsing in battle. Go down and help the others instead."

"No…" Mira stated firmly and manages to shake away from him. 'Considering I'll be forced to climb a flight of stairs to rescue Aerith after this… if the whole barging in like Barret suggested is not a sensible plan.' she thought as she once more climbs up, the two look at one another as they too climb the stairs.

However, after a couple of stairs later… Mira is down for the count. The songstress heaves and pants as she lies down in the steps, still struggling to get back up. 'Ugh… I HATE this!' she thought.

"Mira… you shouldn't push yourself!" Tifa said with concern as she tries to help her and Cloud is slicing out another Aero Combatant off the air. "You might faint before reaching the top, or you'll be targeted by Shinra."

"This… is… NOT a problem." Mira wheezes out as she once more force herself on climbing. "Why does this thing have to be FREAKING TALL!" then after a few steps, she once more leans on the railings trying to catch her breath and soothes her aching leg muscles. 'Ugh… I REALLY should've have taken gym seriously!' she thought, as she tries climbing again.

Only she yelps when suddenly she is pulled up and is hoisted on someone's back, she looks down to see… the blonde have placed her on his back as Tifa takes the keytar from her. "ACK! Hey!" she yelps, blushing at this.

"It's better this way!" the bar maid stated as she and Cloud runs all the way up to the top. "Besides, how can you help your friend if you're too tired?"

'Ugh… Riley will never leave me alone on seeing this…' she thought, as they climb to the top, beating down any Aero Combatant going neat them, or in Mira's case, cast spells.

**:::^*^:::**

At the top, Riley is casting Matra Magic at a group of incoming enemies, as Barret shoot them down on his side. "We should have the others fighting with us! There's too many!" the black man shouts thru the noise of the fight.

"Just hold the fort, Barret! Mira said that she and the other will be here soon!" she stated and then yelps as she is kick by a Aero Combatant. "Why you!" she snaps at it and cast Dark Fire on her attacker. As the said assailant falls out of the air, Riley guessed that she poison him, she then hears something… similar but much more louder then what their enemies are using.

"Hey… they stopped." Barret asked, noticing that all the Aero Combatants are gone. "Did we win?" he asked with a hint of joy.

"Shhh!" she hiss at him and listens. "Do you hear that?"

"… Sounds like…" he said as he listen to the said noise.

And on cue, a helicopter came flying straight for the pillar. Barret swears at it and Shinra, as he takes aim and attempts to shoot it down. While he is busy with it, Riley sets her phone on her jacket, ready to set the alarm off as soon as Mira arrives here. And to delay the destruction a bit, she cast Lightning and then Matra Magic to keep it at bay.

"Damn it, just get hit and drop like a fly!" the AVALANCHE leader fumes and is getting madder that he couldn't hit the flying machine.

"Barret! Don't think of shooting it down!" she said as she once more cast Matra Magic at it, only it manages to avoid it. "Nice piloting… anyway, just keep the helicopter at bay till the other arrive!"

"What?" he asked incredulously and looks at her.

"I hate to say this but spraying wildly on that, will not knock the helicopter off the air." she quips.

Then they heard foot steps and they see Cloud, Mira and Tifa arrives, and the brunette eyes on her best friend as the blonde puts her down. Taking her keytar, the songstress calmly walks to the mime and as the latter opens her mouth.

"Don't you dare say anything about this." the songstress hissed at her.

"As I fear for my life, I will not till this is over." the mime quips as her best friend glares at her.

"Tifa! Cloud! Mira! You came! Be careful! They're attacking from the helicopter." Barret warns them.

"Better equip ourselves before they attack in full force!" Tifa noted and the two men nodded at this. As they checks their equipment, Riley takes Mira away for a moment and she secretly takes out her touch phone. She then opens and flips to the menu, then press something before setting it to another feature.

"I don't hear anything…" Mira whispered.

"Don't worry, it's the 15 seconds lag time before the system goes off." Riley points out, then sets the phone to record the audio.

"But what about the people above the plate?" as the songstress equips the newly acquired Blizzard materia she just got from Tifa, who bought it before heading out for the Don.

"I can't pump up the volume… that friggin plate is probably a hundred feet above us." the mime then tucks in the phone in her jacket pocket, but she makes sure one end is open to record the voice. "So… as a back-up, I decided to record everything they say, right here." Then her best friend gives her an ether to replenish her magic, as she checks on her Dark Fire and Lightning materia.

"But… the people above the plate and Denzel…"

"Sorry Meer… but that is the best I can do, for now, we record this and show it to the people how nasty the company is."

Mira looks at her best friend and sighs… she knew her feeling, she too is guilty that they won't be able to warn the plat above. But to Riley's other plan is a bit sensible and it will bring justice since they got proof. Once they, check their potions and other items…

"Here they come!" Tifa announces and both girls zip up their pouches and looks up. There they saw Reno, jumps out of the plane and land on the platform with ease. He casually jogs to the console and with a hand near the trigger.

"You're too late. Once I push this button…" the redhead Turk points out, Cloud is about to shout at him… only he presses the button. "That's all folk, mission accompli-GAH!"

The redhead Turk is tackled down by two girls, they skid to the floor and struggles to get up. The brunette have to yank her best friend away before she gets hit by his EM rod and backs away. Getting up and on guard, the mime takes out her dagger and the ravenette arms her keytar as the redhead gets up and glares at them.

"Okay! You'll definitely pay for tha-" he stops when he sees the brunette, who glares back at him before casually greeting him.

"Hey, how's the drink I recommended to ya." she stated, yet she did not lower her guard.

"… Awww… and I thought I find a good drinking buddy." Reno stated coolly, although they hear a bit of tone of disappointment in it, as he pockets his hands and the others looks at the mime wondering what's going on. "Long time no see, mind if I have your name there girl?"

"It's Riley and it's just only been a day since you last came to the bar for a drink." she states with a smug smile. "By the way, how the knock out drink I made for ya, feel like getting bash on the brain with a slice of lemon wrap around a gold bar?"

"Ugh… that's probably one drink I would avoid." he mutters.

"But back on track, disarm the bomb right now!" the mime points at the console with the screen showing a countdown till the supports fall.

"I can't have you do that. No one gets in the way of Reno and the Turks…" the red head stated and arms his EM rod.

"You asked for it." Mira state and strikes at the Turk, who jumps away to avoid getting hit.

"You know him?" Tifa asked, when she comes to the mime's side as the other two begins helping Mira out.

"Yeah, I met him once when he came to the bar for a drink." the mime stated with a shrugs and looks at the redhead. "Hard to believe that someone who's that friendly is going to murder innocent lives just to…" she then felt the bar maid's hand on her shoulder and looks at Tifa who gives her a concern look. She blinks at this before she sighs… "I'm fine, Teef. You better help them, I'll try to see if I can disarm this thing- HEY!"

She yelled when she and Tifa gets trap into a pyramid spell and glares at the redhead who just gives her a smug grin before he avoids getting hit by Cloud's huge sword. "Riley! Tifa!" Mira calls and she attacks the pyramid which breaks down. Her best friend gives her a thumbs up and the bar maid smiles before she goes after the redhead.

"You're not joining them?" Riley asked.

"Hold on, I need to re-check my stuffs… Reno is immune to Lightning and some status-effect spells, so the option I can do is healing, cast Blizzard and use positive status-effect on you guys." the songstress stated. "How about you?"

"Mimicry, Dark Fire, Matra Magic… and the new Limit Break I just learned today."

"Really? You know your Limit Break?"

"Yuppers… Uh I think we should help them and not stand here like a foot stool." pointing out that Reno have trapped Barret and Tifa in the Pyramid and is planning to trap the blonde. Nodding at this, the two charge into the fight, Riley is quickly to get to Cloud's side and assist him while Mira breaks the Pyramid to free the two. Charging in, she quickly mimic's the Drift Turn and hits Reno squarely and the Turk stumbles back.

"What the heck?" he yelps as he sees the faded image of the motorcycle from those nasty monster just outside Midgar, before it fades away. "How-"

"I'm a mime! It's my job to copy and execute the moves." She quips and then cast her Matra Magic at him.

Despite the numbers are overwhelming for one guy, a Turk can still stand a chance against them… even against a SOLDIER First. Both girls notice a certain spark in his eyes, as if he does know something yet he cannot tell. And it clicks to them…

'Dang… he knows Cloud is not exactly a SOLDIER, we should've seen this coming.' they thought as Riley attempts to land a strike on him and Mira heals Barret. Casting Dark Fire and using potion on Cloud, the brunette runs right toward the redhead with her dagger armed and strikes on him. But he blocks it and elbows her to the face, causing her to stagger back and then is electrocuted by his EM rod.

"Riley!" Tifa shouts as she charges at the redhead, only he steps aside and made her trip right on the mime.

"This is interesting… I might recruit you for the Turks you know." the redhead quips as he avoids the gun fire from the black man and Tifa helps the brunette up after apologizing and getting off her.

"I would rather have freedom than to follow that moron you so called president." Riley snaps back.

'… Freedom…' Cloud thought, as he pause for a moment and the songstress notices this..

'Is… he trying to remember what Riley said?' she thought and remembers the OVA of the game, there Zack did quotes that he would rather have freedom than to be prisoners and tools for the company. 'Cloud… try to remember…'

"Yeah! Your no-good company destroyed their home!" Barret points out and this sets the alarm in the girls mind off and snaps the blonde back to reality.

'Don't say Banora! Don't say Banora!' they mentally shouts at the AVALANCHE leader.

"Really? And what village is it?" the Turk asked.

"As if we're going to tell you!" Mira quickly shouts at the redhead, ending the conservation as she sent a wave of sound waves at him. He jumps away as Tifa charges at him and throws a punch, only he grabs her hand and flips her over. He is about to electrocute her when he feels a sharp pain on his back, and turns to see Riley with a bloody dagger indicating she have slash his back.

"Heh… not bad." he winces a bit and looks back at the mime.

"Getting soft since I was the friendly bar tender?" the brunette quips.

"Hardly." then he kicks and she quickly blocks the attack, only to find herself trap in the Pyramid. "Stay there."

"Not long!" and the songstress breaks the Pyramid with the sound waves and the mime gives her best friend a thumbs up as a thanks. Then she cast Blizzard, only he smashed the ice before it made impact on him. 'And the FAQs says Blizzard is one of his weakness?' she thought, as she gets yank away by Barret to avoid her from getting shock by the EM rod. "Um, thanks."

"Mind on the fight, girl." Barret stated, as he sprays bullets on the redhead and Tifa attacks with her Limit Break: Beat Rush. "Yer goin down!" and he launches his Limit Break: Big Shot on the Turk. Although Reno manages to avoid the Beat Rush, he wasn't prepare on the Big Shot. So he braces on the impact of the huge fireball and felt the burn on his skin, the black man whoops on the direct hit despite the Turks manages to maintain his stance.

Then he cast Pyramid on Cloud and electrocuted Riley, before either of them could even land a strike on him. But it is a mistake on hitting Riley… it activates her Limit Break again. As he traps Barret again in the Pyramid and Mira heals Tifa.

"Hey drink bud!" the mime called out and the redhead turns to see Riley glowing soft purple. "Get ready for a beating!" and she leaps high into the air, the negative image of the Buster Sword forms in her hands. She performs a Braver on the Turk only he sidesteps away from being hit, but when he is about to retaliate… he meets face to face with a gun-arm. "Blasting off?" she cheekily asked and then pulls the trigger.

Reno felt the heat on the face as he closes his eyes to protect them and braces himself. He feels the flame nearly peeling is skin off as he fell on his back and hold his face. Both Cloud and Barret are jaw-drop on what Riley did… she just mimic their moves in one combine Limit Break. Mira seems to be happy at this as the bar maid moves in and intent to beat the redhead out, only he manages to roll out of the way and staggers up as he notices something.

"It's time." Reno quips as he mocks salutes them goodbye, he runs, passing right thru Tifa and Mira and then jumps off the platform. Then Tifa attempts to disarm the controls, but she grows frustrated and panic-stricken when she couldn't disarm it.

"Cloud!" she calls the blonde and he walks to her side. "I don't know how to stop this. Try it!"

The blonde then looks at the computer and notices something. "…It's not a normal time bomb." he stated, after seeing the bomb is not simple as he thought.

Suddenly, the helicopter came up to the level of where they are and there they saw Tseng, and Reno in the pilot seat, holding his bloody nose. Both girls did manage to get a glimpse of pink somewhere inside, indicating they got Aerith.

"That's right. You'll have the hard time disarming that one. It'll blow the second some stupid jerk touches it." the head of the Turks stated with such authority.

"Please, stop it!" Tifa shouts at him and Tseng only laughs at this.

"…Only a Shinra Executive can set up or disarm the Emergency Plate Release System."

"Shut yer hole!" The AVALANCHE leader shouts and opens fire at the helicopter, but Tseng merely stares back at him blankly.

"I wouldn't try that…" he stated. "You just might make me injure our special guest." as he pulls out Aerith.

"Aerith!" the bar maid shouts out of shock, seeing their friend is captured by the Turks and Cloud is angry now.

"Oh, you know each other? How nice you could see each other one last time. You should thank me." he replied and scans the five on their emotion: Tifa is shock, Cloud is angry and Barret is confuse on what's going on since they didn't meet… but on seeing both Riley and Mira, he sees something different.

… He sees a glint of discreet slyness in their glare…

"What are you gonna do with Aerith?" Cloud demands and he snaps his attention to the blonde.

"I haven't decided." he stated blankly. "Our orders were to find and catch the last remaining Ancient. It's taken us a long time, but now I can finally report this to the President."

"Tifa, Mira, don't worry! Everyone are all right!" Aerith takes her chance to shout at Tifa, noting the safety of certain people.

'Then, my warning system works!' Riley cheers in her mind and then she became calm yet furious and mad when Tseng slapped Aerith. Mira have to move to her side, hold and calm her down.

"Hurry and get out!" the flower girls yells despite the sting on her face.

"Ha, ha, ha…well, it should be starting right about now. Think you can escape in time?" the head Turk mockingly stated before the helicopter moves away and the stand support partially blew up. Both Mira and Riley nearly lost their balance when the platform shakes by the explosion.

"Yo!" Barret calls out and they look to see him pointing at the wire. "We can use this wire to get out!

Nodding at this, Barret quickly unhooks the wire and they move to his side. Barret holds on the bottom where the hook is, placing a foot to secure himself not to slip. Then Tifa and Cloud sits on his shoulders as Mira and Riley are on his arms. They then holds on tight on the wire and escapes by swinging away with the cable, as the Sector 7's stand support explodes and the plate falls crushing everything in Sector 7.

**:::^*^:::**

Landing beyond the playground is a rough one. Once Barret let go of the cable, they fall to the ground, landing and skidding on their feet except for Riley and Mira. The mime manages to land on the ground properly when the songstress just fell on her, causing them to roll right on the bar maid who they also knock off.

"Ow… sorry, Tifa." they both wince and apologizes to the bar maid like school children. They get up and then helps her up, when the black man screams at the debris of the fallen plate that crushed their home.

"Hey Barret!" Cloud called but the AVALANCHE leader ignores him.

"Barret!" Tifa called and then he just screams again, as Mira and Riley looks at one another.

"Hey!" the blonde calls again.

"Barret, stop… Please stop, Barret." the bar maid pleads.

The black man is about to scream again, when he receives another whack to the head courtesy to Mira's keytar. "Ugh? What was that for?" the black man demanded and shaking his fist at her.

"Didn't you hear what Aerith said in the copter moments ago?" she points. "Everyone are all right… which means…"

"Barret!" a familiar voice calls out and they turn to see Wedge running to them from the Wall Market. "You're all okay!"

"And you're alive!" Barret shouts with joy and then… "Where's Biggs and Jessie?"

"Jessie bought most of the people to Sector 5 since we couldn't fit anymore people in the Wall market." the young rebel explains and them looks down. "I… don't know what happen to Biggs though…"

'Ah shit… looks like we have some small casualties going on.' Riley thought, as she hopes that Biggs is okay and alive.

"Biggs…" Barret mutters.

"You said the people are in Wall Market and Sector 5... Is all of them safe?" Tifa asked.

"Well… most of them." Wedge said and seems to be down once more. "Few people didn't believed us and few would rather stay there because it is their home. I'm surprise that an alarm went off to warn the people about the plate falling, that definitely made evacuating the people out more easy."

And Riley sighs. "Well… no point crying on a spilled milk, Wedge, they made their choice." she quips as she crosses her arms and then smiles. 'It works! I'm happy!' her mind cheers and then she notices something...

"So what now?" Wedge asked.

"Simple, you help the people rebuild their homes and lives, the rest of us have to check on Jessie and Marlene in Sector 5." Mira said.

"Marlene… Marlene is still okay?" the black man asked.

"Yeah, Tifa asked the pink lady to take Marlene to her place for safety." Wedge explains.

"Oh yeah, that girl." Barret wonders about it before snapping back to his most important topic. "Marlene! There ain't no turnin' back now."

"Hey!" Riley calls out and they look at her. "Cloud is missing!"

And true to her point, there is no sign of the blonde anywhere.

**:::^*^:::**

Cloud is heading for Sector 5 alone… there is something…

"Cloud!" the blonde then turns to see the others running after him and stopping by his side. "Take me to Marlene!" Barret demanded, as the three ladies skids to a stop.

"You're going to help Aerith?" Tifa asked.

"Yeah… But before that, there's something I want to know." the blonde stated.

"What's that?" Riley asked.

"…it's about the Ancients." he said, as he remembers something and suddenly kneels to the ground, holding his head in pain.

"Are you all right?" Tifa asked out of concern and alert, as Riley and Mira looks at one another.

"Pull it together!" Mira shouts at him and he manages to snap back to reality. Shaking his head, he looks at them and nods that he's okay, they then proceed to Aerith's place.

"We better speed up with Cloud's recovery… I need an opening here." Mira hissed at her best friend as they lag a bit from the three.

"I know… let's try the journey to Kalm or in the town itself." the mime whispered back. "For now, let's focus on getting rid of the info relating to Banora." and the songstress nodded at that as they reach Sector 5 and tails after the three.

**:::^*^:::**

Hojo is in total euphoria.

First, are the reports about the specimen's activity, which stated that it is slowly increasing and it won't be long till it gains consciousness. Next is the report about the energy spikes in the wasteland, it is stated that there are still faint traces of it and the cause of the spikes have arrived here in Midgar. He can't wait to find and experiment the new specimens once they find it, he really wants to know why they made JENOVA that way.

And to top it off… he have finally acquired the every last of the Ancient.

For him, it's a happy day indeed.

But…

Unknown to him, the specimen's eyes blink and moves.

"_It won't be long now… you and I will be united once more."_

* * *

><p>Silver: I don't think this is my best chapter, seeing I kinda rushed the whole thing. But I got reasons… there are two graduations going on in the family. One of them is my nephew, finally going to kindergarten… and the other… is ME! I'm finally out of college! YAY! So yeah, I got a week for the grad pics, practice and I want to cut my hair short! There will be no chapters, aside from this one, for this incoming week… trying looking out, next, next week. Till then, Read and Review!<p> 


	13. Taking the Big Stage

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird does not own Final Fantasy 7, only her OCs… Otherwise, we might end up having a not-so-epic battle with the lawsuits.)

_**Altering Rhythm**_

_**Taking the Big Stage**_

Silver: Now… time to rescue Aerith! Charge! Sorry if this is late... I only got one reason... I got a new IPAD! And I'm distracted on it! XD! Yeah, online games to the MAX! Ha, anyway, as a bit of a punishment for me, i made this chapter long then the usual... it's 30 PAGES LONG! (faints) and almost 13,000 words! OMG! Okay, enough of my ranting and get the show on the road. Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Taking the Big Stage<strong>

Arriving at Sector 5, there they meet up with Jessie where both Barret and Tifa smiles to see here again. Then the AVALANCHE leader asked about Biggs, they soon found out that their last member went to the Sector 4 to find shelters for the rest of the people since Sector 5 and Wall Market are full. Relief that their other member is still alive, they then heads to Aerith's place but Mira and Riley remained in the market with an excuse of seeing if the people are okay.

But….

"Well… All I can say is half-half." Mira quips as she and Riley stays in one corner and look around. "Half-success, that we manage to save the people in the slums, but we did not manage to save the people above the plate… Denzel is still an orphan."

"Yeah… if there is any consolation, I got this." the mime the shows her best friend her touch phone. "I manage to record the entire conversation right here… but I can't show it just yet."

"Duh, our phones are what? 10 or 15 years ahead from their technology." the songstress replied and pointing out the obvious as the brunette blew her bangs. "Anyway back to the point… the next task is to get into Shinra and rescue Aerith."

"And to destroy their information bank." Riley quips in and digs into her pouch, taking out a C4 explosive. "This will do on computers… what about the papers and sorts?"

"Hmmm… I guess we should try looking for oil, gas or something that can burn all the records into ashes."

"Should we try finding one now?"

"We have to wait for them for a moment, but let's try looking around in this area."

Nodding at this, the girls made a quick search for the said flammable liquid.

**:::^*^:::**

After Elmyra explains her daughter's true origin, she is surprise to learn that Barret is the father of the little girl that was bought in.

"You're her father! How in the world could you ever leave a child alone like that?" she asked the black man with a incredulous expression and a stern tone.

"… Please don't start with that. I think about it all the time. What would happen to Marlene, if I… But you gotta understand somethin'…I don't got an answer. I wanna be with Marlene… But I gotta fight. 'Cause if I don't…the planet's gonna die. So I'm gonna keep fightin'! But, I'm worried 'bout Marlene. I really just wanna be with her…always. See? I'm goin' in circles, now." the AVALANCHE leader tries to reason with her and seems to be failing.

"…I think I understand what you're saying… She's upstairs asleep, why don't you go and see her." she then points to the stairs, the black man thank her before bolting to where his daughter is. Cloud and Tifa is about to follow when… "Excuse me, but where are your other two friends?"

"You mean Mira and Riley?" Tifa asked, as they turn back to look at her and the mother nods.

"They're outside, looking after the people that evacuated Sector 7." Cloud replied.

"I see…"

"Is there something you want to talk with them?" he asked.

"No… I just wondered why they are not with you." the two look at one another and shrugs at it before they climb up to the room where Marlene is.

"… I wonder if Aerith is going to be okay with them…" the mother whispers to herself, remembering how much her daughter describes the two strange girls. Seeing them the first time, they seems to be ordinary and nothing out of place… but then again, her adopted child is an Ancient and the last one. She sighs and looks up at the stairs…

She just wished that all of the conflict is solved and done so they could live peacefully.

**:::^*^:::**

"Got anything?"

"I got a bottle filled with leftover cooking oil and a half-full bottle of bug spray, you?"

"Got a pair of hair sprays, a flare and a bottle of whatever-I-don't-know-what-kind of liquid it is but the man says it flammable." the songstress said as the mime takes the bottle and takes a good look at it. "Can you guess it?"

"Honestly… no clue."

Apparently, both girls are able to find some items, considering some people just throws them away without care. "Well… I guess we'll find out when we use it on the papers?"

"I guess so- Ack!" the brunette yelped.

"What?" then the songstress is yanked by her best friend with a yelp.

"Cloud and the others are heading for the company!" the mime hissed as she runs to the blonde and the others, it soon clicks in the ravenette mind and she too jogs towards him. They quickly stash their stuff in their pouches as they near the three. "Hey!" she called out and the trio looks at them. "What's up?"

"We're givin Shinra a nasty visit." Barret stated with calm fury.

"Really? Then let us go with you." Riley stated, as she stops in front of them. "After all, me and Mira got a score to settle with Shinra." and then added in her thoughts. 'With the additions of fans back in our world who despises Rufus' old man… at least his son learned his lessons after almost getting killed by the Diamond WEAPON.'

"Alright then… we need to find a way to get up the plate." Cloud said.

"I checked the train station here in Sector 5, it's close due to the incident right now." Mira points out and looks at the station where Zack used to come and go to visit Aerith.

"Plus it will not open anytime till the incident in Sector 7 is solved." Riley replied and the blonde seems to scowl at this.

"What now, Cloud?" Tifa asked.

"Let's go to Wall Market and find anyone there that knows an alternate way up… probably, we have to find that idiot and demand for a way up." the blonde stated, the two girls realizes who the latter he is pointing out and Mira shudders at it.

'Have to be that damn perv.' the songstress thought and the group agreed to this. They then heads to Wall Market and left Jessie in charge of the civilians with Biggs once he returns.

**:::^*^:::**

Both Tseng and Rude look at one another and Reno sighs…

For the umpteenth time.

After they have delivered the Ancient to the head of the science department, both have been observing their redhead companion and after seeing him sulk, stare blankly and sigh once more. "Reno." Tseng called the redhead and he raise his brow, when Reno turns to look at them with a uncharacteristic blank expression. This made Rude express a slight concern for his partner, as the Wutainese Turk rubs his forehead. "Is something bothering you?"

"Nothing…" the redhead replied with a plain tone, no hints of mischievousness or cockiness.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yeah…"

Rude looks at Tseng. "What made him this way?" he asked.

"I don't know… must be the battle at the pillar earlier."

"And that did this?"

Tseng shrugs and a second later, Reno's eyes lights up a bit and digs in his pocket, taking out a wrinkled, folded paper. "Hey!" he called, the two turns to look at him, although surprise, they hid their expression on the redhead's sudden mood swing. "Do you guys want to have a drink?" as the two look at one another once more

**:::^*^:::**

"This is getting nowhere… SERIOUSLY!" as the mime agrees to her best friend. On arriving in Wall Market, they wasted about half an hour on searching aimlessly around the area and the other half on asking people around. After a series of misleading leads and wrong people to ask, the girls decided to take control of this situation.

"Cloud!" Riley called and the blonde stops on their search for a moment. "Are we suppose to save Aerith? Or asking more questions?" she asked.

"We are! But the only place we can find for leads is here in Wall Market" he replies firmly and both girls resisted face-palming.

"Cloud, we've been looking for an hour…" Mira then takes something out of her pocket, looks at her pocket watch and checks the time. "And a half since we started looking for the way up!"

"Fine, you got any ideas?" he demanded at them, as he cross his arms.

"Just one… I go scout the area while you restock some potions and equip yourselves some better equipments, since we're going fighting to the top." the brunette stated and then left before anyone could speak out about her suggestion.

The songstress pats the blonde on the back, as she shrug and smiles on this. 'Besides, this is a more faster way to get the whole thing done… the right way!' she thought as she guides the trio to the weapon shop to buy some good equipment for the team.

Once they got mythril armlets and better weapons for both Tifa and Barret, the songstress notices the kids are heading for the direction to where the wire they have to climb on. Once again, Cloud ask some random guy on the way up when…

"CLOUDY!" a yell and a glomp, the blonde yelped as he is once more is tackled by the ever hyper brunette. Mira shakes her head a bit and sighs…

'Considering if we are going to encounter Yuffie… anywhere in this frickin' world with woods, Riley might be a good experience on handling immature people.' she thought, as the blonde manage to yank the mime by her collar and the scene looks like an owner holding a (overgrown) hyper puppy. As the songstress stifles her laugh and Tifa giggles a little bit on the scene…

"I found one! And it looks quite promising." Riley stated cheerfully, as she stands and remove the blonde's hand on her collar. 'Well… more of a problem solved than guessing, anyway…' she thought.

"Really?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah, remember some cables are connected and some connects plate to plate?" the mime asked, looking at them and seeing their strange look at her except for Mira who knows. 'Oi, don't tell me they have no idea how mako energy is distributed or phone connections…'

"There are cables that connects plate to plate?" Barret asked, that made the songstress face-palm and the mime slumps and then falls to the ground.

'I swear, if this is an anime, I would be sweat-dropping and smack my head on the ground like those characters.' both girls thought, as the three looks at the brunette on her strange behavior.

"Guys, you don't know?" Mira asked, as they look at her and shaking their heads at the same time. She looks incredulously at them before recovering and explaining the importance of the cables. "Okay, first of all, there are cables distributed in each sectors and they each distribute mako energy, phone line connection, the system of the pillar, so on and so forth. Which is why there are still electricity in every sector despite bombing two reactors… now, you realize that the plate dropped, right?"

"Yeah…?" Cloud asked, crossing his arms as Riley stands up… then it just clicks in his mind and he groans as he face-palm himself. "Oh man… how can I be that stupid…!"

Both Tifa and Barret stares at him with incredulously, as Mira and Riley cheers on him getting the general idea. "Bingo! Since the plate dropped, it also bought some cables down too!" Riley chirps cheerily as Mira pats the blonde on the back.

"Aha… don't worry, Cloud, not even your friends know of it." the songstress points out. "So you're not alone in this."

"But how do you know all this?" Tifa asked, which made the two freeze on the spot.

'Ack! What now! What now!' the mime mentally panics on this as the songstress takes a breath for a moment and looks at them.

"Ummm… from some towns with Mako Reactors." the ravenette points out with a shrug, closing her eyes and looking away a bit before looking back at them. "I mean, we did travel around for a while before we found out that Shinra is behind the Banora Incident."

The blonde nodded at this and looks at Riley, asking her to guide them to the said cable she found. Both girls leads them to the wire the brunette found and as they head there…

"Hey." Riley whispered at Mira, who walking beside her and turns to look at her. "Not bad… but there's a bit of nervousness in there."

"Well… I rarely lie…" she whispered back, in the lowest volume which Cloud will not hear. "And this is different from going up the stage and singing out."

"Yeah… I never pegged you too be all that fake and jazz."

"And yet here we are, hiding our real origin just to change their fate for the better."

"True… beside we don't know how long we will be here either?"

"What do you mean?"

"Is this the place?" Barret asked, snapping the two out of their private talk and they look around seeing that they are near the gates where the Don's mansion is.

"Yeah, it's to the right corner." the brunette replied and points at the direction where the wire is. Going right, there they found some kids climbing up the wire, to see the top but one remains since he is a bit scared. Looking at the wire…

"Can we climb it?" Tifa asked, she sees it a bit unsafe for her.

"Yeah, it leads up to where Aerith is." the brunette explains, as she place her hands on her hips.

"Is there… anyway else to get up there?" the bar maid asked and both girls look at her, then they get the hint… on what she is wearing.

"Awright! We'll climb this wire!" the black man stated with an energetic tone.

"There's no way we can do this." The blonde reason out. "You know how far it goes up?"

"Asking more people again?" the mime asked and crosses her arms. "Cloudy…" she then receives a glare from him.

"This IS a way! Look! What's that look like?" Barret asked.

"Just a normal wire." the blonde deadpans

"Oh yeah?" he stated, as he looks at him then at the wire. "Well to me it looks like a golden shiny wire of hope." that causes Riley to laugh and Mira to turns away as the others looks at the wire.

"You're right." Tifa realizing it is the only way, much to her discomfort on this. "This is the only way to save Aerith…"

"Ok, that was a bad analogy, but, Barret, I understand how you feel." Cloud said, and looks back at the wire… finally seeing it as the only way up. "Let's go!"

Both Cloud and Barret went up first since Tifa is a bit sensitive on what she is wearing, and Mira is skeptical on climbing it. The both earthlings seems to be amazed on how Barret is able to climb with just one arm, it's like push, jump and grab the wire quick before he falls. Once Barret manage to 'ninja' his way up, Tifa takes her turn and climbs up, putting a bit of trust on the two girl to catch her if her fell.

Meanwhile, Mira gives the wire a stare before looking at Riley with annoyance. "Oi, think of this like one of those rope-climbing exercise back in high school!" the brunette hisses at her as her best friend sulks at this. "Come on, we have to save Aerith and you and I are going to destroy info."

The songstress still continues to stare at the wire, till Riley literally push her back to reality and drills her on climbing the wire. Then, she snaps her head up hen she hears a yelp and scrambles to move to where… "Guoooffffyyy!" she yelps out of breath as Tifa fell on her.

"Oh my!" Mira gasped and immediately moves to help the two up.

"Tifa!" Cloud shouts with concern.

"Teef! Are you okay?" the black man calls out.

"Please…" Riley groans out as Mira sets her keytar on her back and lends a hand to the martial artist. "Get her off me!" the mime yelled out of desperation and the songstress scrambles to help the two up. Once she manage to get the bar maid off and help her best friend up. "Ow… Tifa, are you sure those… are not the weight of a pair of watermelons, seriously you're heavy…" the mime wheezes out.

Although, Tifa wants to punch the mime on saying that, she refrains herself since she did fell on her. After that, she climbs again as Mira gives Riley a potion to recover from that fall. Once Tifa is up… Riley have to push Mira to go before her, since the songstress is not that thrilled with climbing and for the mime to catch her in case she falls.

Once the mime is finally up with them, she notices something on one corner and checks it out… it turns out.

"This thing needs a battery." Riley points out before the two girls mentally resisting smacking themselves on the debris, for making one itty bitty mistake…

They forgot about the batteries in the Weapon Shop.

The mime opts to go but Cloud stops and insisted that he'll go instead. Seeing that both Tifa and Barret agrees to this since Riley found the wire, Mira gives Cloud a hint that she saw some kind of batteries in the Weapon Shop and to check it there. He nods at this and climbs down the wire to get it.

**:::^*^:::**

Leaning back in her glass prison… Aerith thinks about the blonde and the two girls…

The blonde reminds her eerily of her first love... His action, speech pattern and the glow of his eyes, but at the same time different from him. She really missed him, but she needs to move on for their sake. And now, she hopes for her bodyguard to come and save her.

Then her thoughts shift to the two girls… those two are different from one another. She can tell from their personality and actions. While they are both active, Mira seems to be the mature one while Riley is more of the action girl. What weird her out is a certain spark in Mira's eyes and Riley's ability to mime the actions of others. The spark in the songstress' eyes suggests that she have a strong yet little used magic but is not certain on her overall appearance… but one thing is for sure, she's not one of her kind which slightly disappoints her a bit.

And the mime, while is more stronger and can endure more then her best friend, she have no materia to support her mimicry abilities. She also thinks of a possibility of her being one of her kind, but it quickly deflated when she senses… something way out of her like Mira, only different.

She knew that the two are best of friends and they trust each other like sisters.

But…

How come one is accepted by the planet while the other is rejected… also why does the planet becomes silent to the one they accepted.

Somewhere, in the lab…

A certain specimen slowly moves the 'wing'

"_It's won't be long now…"_

**:::^*^:::**

"Huh?" Riley stated and looks around to find… nothing…

"Hey, what's wrong?" Mira asked, as she runs to her side.

They are now officially above the plate and they are heading for the company. Shaking her head and ignoring the voice she heard, the two quickly follows the three and there they saw them staring at the company building.

"Hey, you oughta know this building well." the AVALANCHE leader said to the blonde.

Then Cloud thinks about it… "…Not really, now that I think about it, this is the first time I've ever been to the Headquarters." he stated and made the two girls stare at him.

"Really? I thought all SOLDIER personnels are station here?" Riley asked looking at him, she decided to dare making him remember. This made him try to remember of when he was here… 'Come on Cloudy… you been here since Crisis Core!' the mime thought.

'Go on Cloud, remember, you been here and befriended Zack and it's pretty obvious that Shinra would gather all important people in this frickin' company.' Mira thought, then his face scrunches up a bit. 'Don't let the pain stop you from remembering.'

"I… don't know…" he replied and the two girls sighs at this, while Riley resisted face-palming right on his response.

'Oi… Everyone, our leading star of FF7...' the mime thought as she shakes her head a bit. 'Aye…'

"I heard about this place before. Every floor above the 60th is special and not easy to get to even for employees. Must be where they took Aerith." he then pumps up is gun-arm. "The security's pretty light now. Awright, let's go!" and charges.

"Wait a second!" Tifa calls out, the black man stops comically like a Cactuar and looks back at her. "You're not thinking of just going right through the main entrance, are you?"

"Well what else does it look like! I'm gonna kick some Shinra butt and…"

"That's not going to work! We've got to find another way…"

"Ain't gonna be no other way! If we keep wastin' time like this, Aerith will…"

"Huh, Barret…" Riley pipes in and they look at her. "Aye, have you forgotten what we discussed in Sector 7 already?"

"I do but-!" But Mira quickly cuts him off.

"Let's do scouting first… Riley, since you're not that much seen and it might take a long time for Shinra to post a wanted poster of you, you go in and check the place out." the songstress stated and the mime nods at this. Her best friend then trots inside the building as the others waits outside, right behind a statue.

And as they wait… "So… we just wait here?" Barret asked.

"That's the idea, Barret." the songstress stated. "Ever heard the term patience is a virtue?"

"But if we don't get in there right now, Aerith will-"

"If we charge in right now, we'll make a mistake and have them capture us." the songstress snaps back. "Remember, we are on Shinra's turf, so we're practically diving into a dragon's den."

"She's really right you know." Cloud stated in her defense and they look at him. "If you think about it, if we do charge in without thinking we'll be arrest by dozens of Shinra guards."

"I hate to say this, Barret… but you still got a long way to go in your position." the songstress quips and they wait… "By the way, is this really your first time here in this building?" she looks at Cloud.

"… I don't really know." the blonde replied and tries thinking again… only to gain a headache and sighs. "But… is it true that all SOLDIERs are station here?"

"Yeah, from what I heard, this is where all the SOLDIERs are station and they are only dispatched when they got missions of sorts."

"I…" he suddenly winces as the pain on his head intensified.

"Cloud!" Tifa yelps and went to his side, she held him up and prevents him from falling on the concrete ground. She checks and comforts the blonde, then looks at the songstress. "Can you talk about this another time?"

"… Okay…" Mira said and moves a bit away from the two as she stares at them. 'Tifa… sometimes healing requires re-opening the wounds…' she thought, as she looks back at the building. 'Also, there are limits on seeing what a person is capable of… Hojo.' she thought and glare at it.

**:::^*^:::**

Going inside, Riley is first greeted by a receptionist and wondering if she have an appointment. The mime stated she wants to see the showroom and buy a souvenir, the lady smiles at this and asked her to pay a few gils for the passes. Seeing that she'll be needing a visitor pass, she paid the receptionist and heads to the showroom. On the way there, she sees some guards and those are the Grenade Guards. Spending a few minutes in the showroom, she makes note of the truck they'll be riding in since they joined the group the numbers have increase and…

'Aye… one or two of us have to get another vehicle…' she thought and then heads to the souvenir shop, there she see more guards than the usual which she remembers in the game. 'Note: this is not a game anymore.' she remind herself as she reaches the shop. After buying a few potions and stuffs, she wonders about the chests behind only to be stop by the clerk. Slumping a bit that she couldn't get the chest… she instead finds something that pique her interest and takes it.

Then she resisted on smacking herself on the wall near her… both she and Mira don't know which floor the Turks are… all they know is that Floor 45 is where the important stuffs since it was shown in Before Crisis in Reno's story, the laboratory in 67 and 68, the library in 62 and probably the SOLDIER floor in 49 and 51 shown in Crisis Core... She is clueless on what's on floor 50, but what she really need is where the Turk's headquarters are…

'Ah crap… if those Turks have back-up info about Banora, we're screwed…' Riley thought as she briskly walks towards the entrance. 'Slick… got to find that damn floor!' and she walks out. Remembering where the guards are and their equipment… they're going to have to take the stairs.

Arriving back to the group, she notice Mira glaring at the building. 'Oh yeah, the fat man's enemy is also her enemy… Seriously, Lelouch much girl?' the mime thought as she smiles silly and blew her hair. "Hey, I'm back." she calls out.

"So bustin' in?" the black man immediately asked.

"Not even close, I've seen quite a number of guards in there." Riley points out, with her hands on her hips. "I want to save Aerith… but without the bullets holes riddled in our bodies which will make us look like cheese!"

"So… sneak in at the back or something?" Mira asked, as she dread on the fact that they'll be climbing all the way up to floor 59. 'I hate this company… so much right now.' she thought bitterly.

"It seems so." the mime noted.

"That settles it." Tifa stated and everyone seems to agree aside from Barret and Mira. Heading left and finding the emergency exit door, on entering… both girls stares at the very long climb they're going to do. One of them looks thrilled and the other looks like she's going to be sick.

"Yo, are we… gunna take these stairs all the way up?" the AVALANCHE leader asked faintly and Mira couldn't help but to agree with him.

"Why…?" Mira hissed as Riley pats her by the back.

"We've got to save Aerith somehow." the bar maid points out.

"Can't they even build escalators?" the songstress whispered to herself, as the mime just pats her back once more and shakes her head out of pity for her best friend.

"You really shouldn't skipped gym you know." the brunette replied jokingly and she receives a glare from her.

"Talk about out of the way." And they start climbing up all the way to floor 59.

"I don't have time to argue with you, I'm going" By that, Tifa sprinted towards the top.

"Yo Tifa, don't go off alone!" Barret yelped and goes after her. Cloud soon followed with the girls behind him, running in an easy pace and outruns the AVALANCHE leader.

"By the way, how many minutes is this supposed climb?" Riley asked her best friend, as she jogs beside her.

"In the game… I think it's about 5 minutes…" the songstress replied. "But now…"

"Aye… sucks to be you." the mime quips, she then runs away from getting hit by a keytar and outruns Barret. "Climbing to the MAX!" she yells loudly with a cheer and Barret stares at the mime for a moment and looks back at Mira, who's just a staircase behind.

"Yo, what's wrong with your friend?" he asked., pointing at the hyper brunette, who just outrun Tifa.

"Exercise freak." the songstress stated and continue with the, to her it's torturous, climb.

**:::^*^:::**

A few minutes pass…

'Ugh… if Lelouch were doing this, he'll be complaining.' the songstress thought as she takes a few second break and continues climbing.

"Don't know…" Barret wheezes out. "Why the hell… we gotta climb…"

"Once more, you're thinking with your muscles!" Riley shouts, and by distance and the volume of the voice… she seems to be quite far up.

'Damn energizer bunny!' Mira swears mentally as she continue with the climb.

"...because we don't want to start a commotion until we've saved Aerith." As Cloud outruns Barret. "I doubt that's possible though..."

"...heh heh heh."

"Knock it off. You're giving me the creeps." The blonde snaps at him.

**:::^*^:::**

'Damn, crap, fudge sticks, nutcracker…' the songstress mentally swore as she pants and takes another break on climbing. Apparently, she lost count on how many she have taken a break as the others continue with their climb.

"So even you will fight for someone else. I had you figured wrong I guess." The black man stated as he huffs a bit.

"Who cares what you figured!" The blonde Ex-SOLDIER snaps at him.

"I'm just sayin' mebbe I was wrong..."

"Heh heh heh…" Tifa giggles a bit ahead of them.

"What's that supposed to mean, Tifa?" Cloud asked, looking incredulously at the bar maid ahead.

"Cloud CARES! AAAWWWW!" they heard Riley… once more ahead of them. The blonde heard that and realizes what Barret was pointing out, he flushes out of embarrassment which he covers with his spiky locks as they continue with their climb.

**:::^*^:::**

"How much farther do these stairs go on?" Barret asked, once they reach the next set of stairs

"I have no clue!" Once again, Riley is way ahead of them and Barret is baffle on how the heck she heard him.

"Why don't you asked them?" Tifa retorts back at him.

"It's not one of them endless stairways or somethin', d'ya think?" he asked.

"STOP MAKING ME NERVOUS!" a faded shout came from below, that when the realizes at Mira is way too behind them.

"Of course not!" The bar maid snaps back at him.

"Right... couldn't be that..." As Cloud runs passes him again.

Meanwhile, Riley seems to whoops for joy.

**:::^*^:::**

"Are we there yet?" Barret asked.

"Not yet." Tifa replied

"...there yet?"

"I said not yet!"

"Yo..."

"Look, don't even ask! We're way way way way far away from being there, ok!" Then suddenly Riley is climbing down the stairs, which made Tifa, Barret and Cloud look at her as she goes down. "Wait! Where are you going?" she asked the brunette.

"I've been on the top!" she stated and they look incredulously at her. "Did you hear what Mira said about me? I'm an exercise freak and proud of it! So, if you excuse me, I better help Mira before she decides to throw a fit or sing us all to sleep… or something." she shrugs before bolting off to where her best friend is.

**:::^*^:::**

"Damn, man! I've had it! I'm going back!" The AVALANCHE leader shouts out of tiredness and frustration, after climbing another set of stairs.

"And take just as long going down as you did coming up?" the bar maid asked and the black man is silent on that one. Upon reaching the top section of the set of stairs, Cloud see Barret out of breath and is leaning on his knees while Tifa looks at him like a scolding mother while resting a bit. "C'mon, Barret, pull it together!"

"Yeah, well all I know is I'm just flesh 'n' blood... 'cept for this arm of mine." He winces, as he catches his breath. "Don't treat me like I'm some ex-member of SOLDIER or somethin'… or even that friggin' mime."

"What about me! I'm human too! Oh, do what you want, I'm going on!" Tifa snaps at him and is about to head off when she stops and… "Yaah! Barret! You go first!"

"What're ya ignorant? I didn't mean that..." But he is cut short when…

"All right, all right!" Tifa snaps at him and point at the next set of stair, slumping at this the black man trudges on to the next level. "Cloud, you go on ahead too!" she suggested, the blonde shrugs at this and follows Barret.

**:::^*^:::**

"Yo... What floor is this?" the black man asked.

"...I gave up counting." Tifa wheezes out.

"Why they gotta build these buildings so damn tall?" Barret swears. "That Shinra... They're just no damn good." And she is just silent on that. "Huff... Man, I'm beat... Marlene, Daddy wanted to see your face one more time..." As he is merely climbing the stair with pure adrenaline.

"Would you stop acting like a retard and climb?"

"I see cake! I SEE CAKE!" a familiar voice shouts out.

"Riley! Knock it off!" as suddenly Riley appears, catching up just behind them and is giving Mira a piggyback ride to the top. "Sorry about the lack of endurance back there." the songstress apologizes.

"Don't worry! It's just a bit more! … Maybe…" The bar maid stated a bit

"I agree! And there's cake up there! CHARGE!" the brunette shouts

"Riley!" as Cloud runs pass them again, and the two stares at him. "Seriously, how come you're behind from time to time?" the songstress asked the blonde.

"I took a break very now and then!" the blonde replied as he runs up.

**:::^*^:::**

Both Riley and Mira made it to the top first, the mime then sets her best friend down. Then taking peek through the crack of the door, there they see the Grenade guards by the elevators. Looking at one another, Riley widens the door a bit as Mira sits down and sets her Orchestra Ai on her lap. Looking at the brunette, who is now covering her ears, she receives a thumbs up and begins to play a song…

Now it's time to say good night

Good night Sleep tight

She sings.

Now the sun turns out his light

Good night Sleep tight

Dream sweet dreams for me

Dream sweet dreams for you.

Close your eyes and I'll close mine

Good night Sleep tight

Now the moon begins to shine

Good night Sleep tight

Dream sweet dreams for me

Dream sweet dreams for you.

Then she stop when she notice Riley is at the door, looking out before she looks back at her with a grin. She then bolts in as the songstress waits for the others, and it wasn't long before Tifa arrives with Barret dragging himself behind.

"F... finally... M... made it..." The AVALACHE leader wheezes out. "N... never wanna see... no more stairs the rest of my life..."

"Huff... Puff... this really takes it out of you..." Tifa pants as she catches her air and breathes in "But this is it. We'd better get ready...!"

Then Cloud arrives and looks at the three and notices Riley is missing. "Wait, where's Riley?"

"Pick-pocketing the sleeping guards." Mira points out and they took a peek out side to see the mime is pick-pocketing the sleeping guards. Seeing that it is safe to go in, the group files out and took a minute or two to rest a bit. Then the songstress drags the brunette on one corner and looks sternly at her. "Okay, what's with the cake thing?" she asked.

"What everybody loves cake, it's encouraging!" Riley stated in defense.

"Ever heard the term 'the cake is a lie'?"

"Ouch! Party pooper."

"Right, back to our topic, which floor should we go to get rid info about Banora?"

"45, 49, 51, 62, 67 and 68... Plus we got a bit of a problem." the brunette then looks behind for a moment and looks back at her best friend. "I have no clue as to which floor the Turks headquarters is."

"… fudge sticks." the songstress swore and sighs at this.

"Yeah, so we're going to explore this building at some point."

"Aye… the C4 bombs?"

"Well, this is the first time we're going to blow up something, but I manage to find a book about how to set a bomb."

"You know how to remote control a stereo but not a bomb?"

"Hey, I'm not a Mythbuster, y'know."

"… you're enjoying using titles or names from the shows we watch back, do ya?"

"It reminds me of home, girl." and then they become silent for a moment. "I'm starting to miss everything back home." as Mira pats her back when Cloud calls them, and turns to see that they needed the keycard for the elevator. Once the mime gives the keycard to him, he swipes it on the reader and the light went green. A few moments later, it arrives, the door opens and they quickly enter the elevator. Then Riley press the up button, the door closes and the elevator does up, as Mira tries to think of a good way to split from Cloud and the group.

"This is the real thing. Don't let your guard down." Barret warns them as he preps his gun arm.

"I hope Aerith is all right." The bar maid said out of concern as the elevator continue with it's climb.

**:::^*^:::**

Arriving on the 60th floor, Cloud peeks in but Riley just shove him out and he fell flat of his front. "Whoops, sorry bout that." the mime apologizes sheepishly as the blonde glares at her. After that, they head to the security room and as they head there… the girls wonders why the first two guard they met are very ignorant on their guard duty. They merely tell them off like adults scolding a lost kid, and returns on what they are doing… which is happens to be solitaire.

"Yeah… that's gonna cut some of their salary once their employer sees this." Riley whispers at her best friend, who shakes her head amusingly.

Arriving at the security room, there the three spied at the moving guard while the two girls thinks of a better way to pass the guards… and they got one.

"Lookit that, all them guards is runnin' around." Barret stated before retreating back into the room. "Cloud, you go on ahead and signal us when it's safe to come."

"Or… you could yet Mira handle this." Riley pipes in and looks at the ravenette.

"Huh? Is she good on sneaking in?" Tifa asked.

"Nah, I'm good at putting people to sleep." Mira quips, as she arms her Orchestra Ai.

"… there's no time to joke." the blonde stated.

"And she's not, seriously, she have the skill to put them to sleep." the mime placed her hands on her hips. "I mean, it's too much coincidence for the guards in the 59th floor to be sleeping." and they look at her.

"And I sang the Don to sleep too." the songstress added.

"Eh? You didn't knock him out?" Tifa asked.

"No, duh, I'm a songstress." the songstress points and deadpans at them. "You think I got this gigs for looks?"

"Oi, guys, she got status effect spells." Riley points out. "I mean, she did cast haste on you guys while singing."

The trio looks at one another, thinking about it before they decided to give her a shots. With a big grin from Riley, the brunette opens the door slightly and advises the others to cover their ears. The trio looks at her for a moment then covered their ears, and Riley gives her best friend a thumbs up. And Mira takes a breathe…

As a child there were them times

Mira sings.

I didn't get it but you kept me in line

I didn't know why you didn't show up sometimes

On Sunday mornings, and I missed you

But I'm glad we talked through

All them grown folk things, separation brings

You never let me know it

You never let it show because

You loved me and obviously

There's so much more left to say

If you were with me today face to face

I never knew I could hurt like this

And everyday life goes on like

"I wish I could talk to you for awhile"

Miss you but I try not to cry

As time goes by

And it's true that you've reached a better place

Still I'd give the world to see your face

And I'm right here next to you

But it's like you're gone too soon

Now the hardest thing to do is say bye, bye

Bye, bye.

Bye, bye.

Then she stops when she heard a thud near them and turns to see Barret fast asleep, all curled up like a baby. "Uh… Whoops? I think I forgot about his gun-arm is not a proper cover for his other ear." she said sheepishly as Tifa tries to wake him up.

"Well, look on the bright side, ya sang the guards to sleep, ya spoony bard." Riley stated, who is taking a peek outside and grins silly at her friend. Then she looks at the black man and pokes him with her boots, as the blonde went to the door to see if it's true Mira sings them to sleep. "Aye, he's dead asleep… someone have to carry this guy or shake him awake… real hard." the mime points out.

"Or splash cold water on him." the songstress suggested, as the blonde seems to scratch his head with amazement.

"Where the heck are we going to get water? Especially a cold one?" her best friend asked skeptically, only she is directed by the songstress to a corner where a fridge is. "… Oh."

They knew that the fridge was not in the game at all, but then again security are probably bored to death with nothing to do but to spy on people thru cameras. Once they splashed Barret with a cold ice tea, they couldn't find any water there, they then heads to the next floor thru stairs on the next room.

**:::^*^:::**

After getting the keycard, which mistaken Riley as a janitor to much her annoyance, they quickly heads up to the next floor.

For the girls, they arrived on one of their target floor but they cannot separate the group, they have to wait for the puzzle before they make note on where to place the bombs and fires.

"How do you do?" a man asked and only Mira remembers his name, which is Hart. "This is the Midgar Mayor's Office. Mayor Domino is in his office. I am the Deputy Mayor. If you should have any questions feel free to ask me..."

They enter the office and meets the mayor, Domino, who looks quite stress out and tired. The mayor talks with them and decided to give them an offer, tell him the password and he'll give the keycard for the floor 65 along. And if guessed tight in the first try, he'll throws in a freebie. For Cloud, he have no time to do this and is willing to knock him out and get the card, only he is stopped my Mira.

"Again, patience is a virtue Cloud." she points out lightly. "Tell you what, why don't you search the floors above while Riley and I look for the password."

"But…" the blonde is about to protest when…

"Hey, look at this on the good side, why don't you try looting some Shinra goods and use them against the company?" Riley suggested and the three look at her as Mira shakes her head on this. "Oh come on, haven't anyone of you guys thought of it? I mean it will be like slapping Shinra back on the face with their own medicine!"

"Come ta think of it, that ain't a bad idea." Barret said with a lewd smile that creeps both girls out.

"Barret! Riley! We're suppose to save Aerith!" the bar maid reminds them.

"That and smacking Shinra with their own inventions and so on." the brunette mime pipes up cheerily, which the black man grins at it to agree with her.

"Riley, just get the password with Mira and meet us at 64th floor." Cloud deadpans at the mime, who in returns gives him a mock salute and ending the conversation. Once the trio left to the floors above, the two look at one another and then they bolt out to check the books. Their they check for any title relating to Banora, then sprinkling those with a bit of oil in the papers and then finds the misplaced books for the clue.

Once they find the clues and a suitable place to explode, where it can cause fire, they return to the mayor's office with the password: MAKO. He's happy for them guessing the code, also since they guessed it on their first try, he gives them the Elemental Materia which Riley equips it with her Dark Fire.

After getting an encouragement from the mayor, they heads up to find the storage room puzzle… and is it now completely lock.

"I guess Cloud and the others took the stuffs here." Riley noted and heads to the next floor. There, they quickly heads to the locker room to where Cait Sith's megaphone is and takes it with the potion and ether.

"This way, we won't bother coming back here for the cat's megaphone." Mira stated as she places it in her pouch. "… I still feel like I'm in Looney Tunes with this Pocket Space, this pouch defies physics."

"D'oh, it useful." the mime replied with a grin as she loots some clothes from the locker. Then they went to the room where the beds are, however they encounter a SOLDIER 3rd who is just getting a drink from the gym. Knowing what kind of equipment and the ID he have for the SOLDIER floor, both girls follows him to the said gym. There they saw him trying get his drink from the gym that ate his gil and Mira quickly positions herself on a free chair. She then sings and not too long the SOLDIER falls asleep along with the other people in the gym.

"Just grab what we need and hide this guy." Mira just hissed at her best friend, who just look at her by the sudden act of sing all of the employees to sleep. Once they took the sword, gils, the ID and the uniform, they then hid the 3rd Class in a out-of-order restroom.

After stuffing everything except the sword in the pouch, they saw Cloud and the others walk out of the room "Hey, got the keycard."

"And a new sword for Cloud!" Riley cheers as she bounces toward the blonde.

**:::^*^:::**

After they solved the puzzle of the model of Midgar, they got the keycard for the next floor and they quickly heads up. On arriving at the 66th floor, they learn from some people around them that the meeting room stinks and hearing voices in the restroom. Wanting to know what's going on with the big wigs, Barret wants to charge in, gun blazing and demanding for answers.

"Barret… have you not thought of a way without involving charging in and gun blazing?" the songstress deadpans at him, as the black man scratches the back of his head. "Why don't we try looking for a way… without getting ourselves caught or trap or even shot on the spot."

"I'm going with her on this one." the mime pipes in.

"Same here." Cloud also stated and the two looks at the blonde with slight surprise. Barret slumps at this and follows the group to find a more suitable way to peek in the meeting. Remembering about the restroom, Riley noted to check out the bathroom and heads there with the entire group tailing behind. There the mime checks each toilet and she nearly cheers out loud to find the exact one with the duct above. She climbs up into the ventilation duct above the toilet and checks if it's wide enough for five of them. Once confirming the space, she calls out for the group and tells them to climb in, as she sets something in her pocket. The trio looks skeptical on this but Mira climbs in, knowing that this leads to the Conference Room. Shrugging at this, they climb up into the duct where they meet Riley with a cheery smile and motions them to follow. There they find Mira near the vent and is looking down thru it. They then crouch around it and through the slats, they see President Shinra and other employees sitting at a long table in the Conference Room.

"Geez-! That's a lotta suits!" Barret hissed and both girls shush him quiet and watch...

"We have the damage estimates for Sector 7." A man said, both girls recognizes who it is. Reeves, who after the METEOR, becomes the head of the WRO in the future. "Considering those factories we already set up and all the investments, the damage is estimated at approximately 10 Billion gil... The estimated cost to rebuild Sector 7 is..."

"We're not rebuilding." The president stated.

"What?" the urban head asked in shock.

"We're leaving Sector 7 as it is and restarting the Neo-Midgar plan."

"...then the Ancients?"

"The Promised Land will soon be ours. I want you to raise the Mako rates 15% in every area."

Then a fat, bald, guy, jumps up and down, the girls can tell who it is…

"Rate hike! Rate hike! Tra, la, la! And please include our Space Program in the budget!" Palmer said cheerily and looking at the president like a greasy, overstuffed piglet.

"Reeve and Scarlet will divide the extra income from the rate increase." The president stated with no care at all and the fat man sits down, sulking a lot.

"Sir, if you raise the rates, the people will lose confidence..." Reeves noted.

"It'll be all right. The ignorant citizens won't lose confidence, they'll trust Shinra, Inc. even more."

"Gya ha ha ha!" A bearded man laughs, who is Heidegger, the head of Safety Maintenance. "After all, we're the ones who saved Sector 7 from AVALANCHE!"

Barret is about to swear on that but both girls shuts him up and glares at him.

"But what about the rumours that AVALANCHE evacuated the people from the slums? And the warning system that alerted them?" the Urban head asked.

"Meh, we can label that they planned to kill the people on the plate and the AVALANCHE members made that to evacuate the slums rats and their members." Heidegger stated gruffly. "All we need to do is find someone to take all the blame and kill them off right in front to the public. As they say, once a rat, always a rat."

Riley's eyes twitches on that one, as Mira keeps Barret down from going all out on the heads of the departments, the mime quickly excuse herself and left. Seeing her best friend is upset, she too left and follows her out. There the songstress sees Riley pacing back and forth, hissing and swearing as she holds her phone.

"You recorded it?" Mira asked.

"Yeah, I know the statement of the Turks is not enough proof to point that Shinra is the one who dropped the plate." Riley explains and she replays it a bit before packing it back in her pouch. "Mira, remind me to shave that man's beard."

"Eh?"

"So I can punch his jaw cleanly away." as Cloud and the others crawls and climbs out the duct.

"Come on, we need to follow someone to get to Aerith." the blonde stated, motioning them to follow. They then left the bathroom and come around a corner, and there they spot Hojo.

"Hojo... huh...?" Cloud noted and both Mira and Riley looks at him with concern. They knew that Hojo is the one who experimented on him and messed up his memories, and the one who causes Sephiroth's insanity by lying about his mother and origin. They quickly follow him up to the 67th floor, where the two-floor laboratory is located.

"I remember him." The black man said as they follow the professor. "That Hojo guy. He's in charge of the Shinra's Science Department. Cloud, don't you know him?"

"This is the first time I've actually ever seen him. So... that's what he looks like..." The blonde commented and both girls stares at him, yet they didn't make any remarks.

**:::^*^:::**

They follow Hojo to a dreary-looking laboratory, there a red, lion-like creature is imprisoned in a glass tube, sitting in the far corner. They hides behind a crate and just in time to avoid an employee who enters the room.

"Is this today's specimen?"

"Yes. We're starting right away. Raise it to the upper level." Hojo commands, the employee nods and left to his station. The head scientist then places his hand on the glass, rubbing it with interest. "My precious specimen..."

He stands there for a while, then left for his work station. Cloud and the other comes out of hiding and Tifa went to where the red creature is confine.

"Precious specimen...?" She wonders and looks at the red creature. "Is it going to be used for a biological experiment?" as Mira goes to where Red XIII or Nanaki is confine. The red creature perks his head up when Mira comes near, but lays back with less interest on either girls.

'That's kinda weird…' the songstress thought.

Then the blonde looks around and spots a metallic dome, he senses something… familiar in there. "Jenova..." He whispered, he walks towards the container and peers into the window and sees a headless, gray, female being. Her head has apparently severed rather violently, then Cloud backs away and clutches his head. A high-pitched whine reverberates in his head and he collapses to the floor. The girls notices this and runs to his side, then tries snapping him back to reality.

"Jenova... Sephiroth's... So... they've brought it here." He mutters

"Cloud, are you okay?" Mira asked.

"Did you see it?" he asked and looks at them

"See what?" the AVALANCHE leader asked, as Riley peeks in the window. She stills for a second but she brushes it off.

"It's moving... still alive?"

"Yeesh! It's creepy!" Riley comments and shivers, as Barret takes a peek in it too.

"Where's its $#&*& head? This whole thing's stupid. Let's keep goin'." The black man commented as he felt a slight chill on his spine on seeing the headless creature. Once Cloud recovers from the shock of seeing the headless lady, they continue venturing into the lab. They beat and loot some Carbon Bangles from the Moth Slashers, the girls giggles bit that they just knockout the supposed SOLDIER 3rd 64th floor.

And before they get in the elevator.

"_Well done… you have bought her to me…"_

Cloud stills for a second as both Riley and Mira looks back at him with concern. "Cloud?" the mime asked out of concern and he shakes his head. After stating that he's okay, they get into the elevator and both girls arms themselves for the in coming fight.

**:::^*^:::**

Arriving on the next floor, the lab in here is more advanced and clean than that on the 67th floor. There is a glass tube like that the one below and near it is Hojo, then, with a good look of the glass tube, inside is Aerith herself.

"Aerith!" Cloud calls out

"Aerith? Oh, is that her name?" the creepy scientist stated and turns to them. "What do you want?"

"We're taking Aerith back." Mira said sternly with a glare on him.

"Outsiders..." He mutters

"It's obvious, duh…" Riley deadpans at him.

"There's so many frivolous things in this world."

Both Cloud, Riley and Barret moves forward, only to be stop by Hojo

"Are you going to kill me? I don't think you should." Hojo tested them. "The equipment here is extremely delicate. Without me, who could operate it? Hmm?"

Cloud winces at this as Riley blew her hair. "Delicate my ass, it's just a glass tube!" she points out. "Just smack it and Aerith goes free."

"Oh? Really? This glass is bullet-proof, I doubt you can break it easily." And she glares daggers at him. "That's right. I recommend you think things out logically before you make any rash moves." He then turns to the control station where his assistant is. "Now, bring in the specimen!"

The red creature is lifted into the tube, gets up and growls aggressively at Aerith, who immediately backs away from it.

"Cloud, help!" Aerith calls out, scared of the red creature.

"What do you think you're doin'?" Cloud demands, glaring at the mad scientist

"Why, lending a helping hand to an endangered species... Both of them are on the brink of extinction... If I don't help, all these animals will disappear." Hojo stated as if they're annoying children who asked too many questions.

"...Animal? That's terrible! Aerith is a human being!" Tifa shrieks at him

"Yeah!" Riley pipes in and she takes out her dagger. "She's one of us despite her heritage!"

"Barret! Can't you do anything?" Cloud shouts over at the black man, needing to hurry and rescue Aerith.

"No worries! I got it!" Riley shouts and toss her dagger at the control panel, which effectively stabs and cuts the wires. Mira is shocked and momentarily walks to Riley's side, as the tube lights up.

"Hey, Barret is suppose to shoot at the panel." Mira hisses at her best friend.

"… Oh, yikes, sorry slight panic there." Riley apologizes as Hojo runs for the tube to quickly open it. "Look on the bright side, it's still following the storyline." as the songstress face-palms at this.

The door opens... the light dims, the red creature poised in the door, leaps forward and starts attacking Hojo. "Now's our chance to get Aerith!" the blonde stated and runs into the tube and helps Aerith.

"Thanks, Cloud." The flower girl said as she gets up with his help. But once she left the tube, the elevator begins moving and he moves away from it. Tifa asked what's wrong as the girls arms for the fight. When Cloud noted that the elevator is moving, Hojo pulls himself out from under the red creature.

"This is no ordinary specimen. This is a very ferocious specimen!" Hojo yells at them.

The creature turns away from Hojo and looks at them. "He's rather strong. I'll help you all out." It stated.

"It talked!" the bar maid yelps out of surprise.

"I'll talk as much as you want later, Miss." As the blonde approaches the creature.

"We'll take care of that monster. Somebody take Aerith somewhere safe... Tifa, Mira, I'm counting on the two of you." The blonde said. Both Tifa and Mira nods at him and guides Aerith away, the songstress give her best friend a warning look and mouthing the word Dark Fire.

'… Wha-oh crap, yeah, my Dark Fire got poison in it. This incoming freak is going to absorb and use it for healing it's wound." Then she just notices Hojo is gone. 'Man, I didn't even smack that fruit-loop with the books!'

After asking the creature's name, which happens to be on the label: Red XIII, the ferocious specimen arrives with it's miniature, round helpers bouncing around. Tifa, Mira and Aerith are just at the bridge near the control station, the ravenette arms her keytar and ready to support them. Both girls sees what the creature looks like, it seem more like a Resident Evil G-Virus and Tyrant combine with a huge mouth on the shoulder instead of an eye. A huge claw on one arm and a club on the other, as a bunch of tentacles covers it's face and some parts are covered in metal.

"Come on!" Cloud shouts as he, Barret and Red charges with Riley tailing behind to think of a plan.

Then… "Ah crap, I only got Lightning and this thing only takes half the damage from it!" She hisses to herself as she jumps away from an incoming claw and something clicks. "Mira you got the Blizzard, right?" calling out to her friend.

Remembering that she got one, the songstress removes her materia from her bangle and tosses it to the brunette. Casting Matra Magic on the small creatures, thee mime then jumps, caught the materia and lands down. She then runs around to avoid being hit by Fire and cast back with Matra magic, then she remembers the storage room in floor 63 and rushes to Cloud.

"Don't bother with the small ones! Just attack the main monster!" Red advises them and charges at the huge beast. Cloud agrees to this as he is starting to glow, meaning he going to strike with a Limit Break. Then blonde charges in and slashes the thing once…

Twice…

And then the third as Riley gaped at the sign at appears on each strike.

'Shit! That's Cross Slash! AWESOME!' she thought, and then yelps as she is hit by Blizzard on by one of the monster's mini helper. "OW! That's cheap you!" she swears and cast Dark Fire at it, which to her luck manages to silence it. With one removed with it's ability to cast magic, she once more went to Cloud's side as she drinks out a potion. "Hey, got the items from the 63rd floor?"

"Riley, there's no time for that!" he hisses as they both avoid the claw.

"Hey, there's got to be something useful in that floor." she retorts back at him, as she kicks one of the minions like a football and spied something blue.

"Focus on the fight!" He snaps at her and runs in with his sword, as Riley just stands there to a moment and then smack her forehead.

"Geez… I might as well do it like Kaitou KID." she mumbles and then charges to the fray. As they fight against the monster, Riley tries to take the chance to get near to the blonde but is always blocked by a Fire or a Blizzard spell from the Opts. "Annoyance." she snaps and cast Matra Magic on the two of them.

One died but the other seem manages to avoid her magic. Nevertheless, she saw the monster is about to spew poisonous gas at them and took this chance to steal the All Materia. She dash for the blonde and grabs his arms, then she drags him away from range.

"HEY! What are you-!" he yelped.

"Bad gas! Deadly gas!" she warns as the monster blows out a pink-purplish colored gas. Barret and Red are the ones who are mostly effected and are poison, as Riley manages to get out of the way with Cloud.

As Ex-SOLDIER is distracted, Riley uses her stealing skills and pops the All Materia out of his bangle. "Mira catch!" she yells and tossed the blue materia at the songstress. The blonde gapes as the stolen blue materia flies towards the ravenette and he looks at his bangle.

"Riley!" Cloud shouts at her as she cringes at the volume of his voice. "You-!"

"We need healing!" the brunette cuts him off and points at Barret and Red who are poisoned. "I only took the All Materia, so Mira can cast the Cure on all of us!"

"But she's too far!"

"She's long range!"

When the songstress caught the blue materia, she quickly place it on her bangle with a link to her Restore Materia. She then feel the spell is capable to cast widely and focuses on casting to all the party fight below. Casting cure on all of them in one spell, Riley tosses out a pair of antidotes on Barret and Red as she charges on to the monster. But she backs away when the specimen slashes at her with Keyclaw and is hit by a Fire from one of the small minions of the monster.

That's when her annoyance begins to build and bombards the small thing with Matra Magic. "Suits ya right, yeah friggin little- GAH!" she yelps as she is hit by the claw of the monster.

"Riley!" Mira shouts out with worry and cast another Cure fell on all of them as her best friend backs away for a moment.

Then mime stills, looking at the ground as Red strike back on the monster with his Limit Break: Sled Fang. But even with the three times the damage, it remains standing and releases another Shady Breath on them. Since Riley just stood far from the battle, she is not affected by the gas and only snaps back to see all three of them are poison.

"Guys!" the mimes calls out and jumps back when a Fire is cast on her place. She then glares on the small, round thing before focusing on the main target itself. "Okay, you really asked for it." as she glows light purple and a familiar transparent weapon forms on her hand.

Seeing that, Mira recognizes the weapon and gapes at it. "No way... that's..." she mutters as her best friend charges in swiftly and attacks the monster. She first spin slashes upwards, then a strong kick, followed by horizontal slash and another, then a shot at it, a flip kick with a strong back kick to follow, a slash and finally a spin slash to finish as she flips back to retreat. 'Oh my... skrits... did she just performed Lightning's Army of One.' the songstress thought, as the mime also gapes on her new Limit Break.

But since it is new to her, the movement is sluggish which is why the monster is still standing... Only it is shot dead by Barret's Big Shot.

After the fight, Aerith, Mira and Tifa run down the bridge and the songstress digs in her pouch and distributes the antidotes to them.

"Aerith, you all right?" Cloud asked the pink brunette, as he downs a bottle of antidote.

"She seems all right, ...in many ways." The bar maid said with confirmation, as the songstress cast cure on everyone who fought.

"I have a right to choose, too. I don't like two-legged things." The red 'lion' stated as he sits.

"What are you?" Barret asked.

"An informed question. But difficult to answer. I am what you see." Red stated. "...You must have many questions, but first, let's get out of here. I'll lead the way."

"Cloud... so you did come for me." Aerith said with relief and happiness, as both girls look at one another and sighs at this. Then the red feline leaps over the railing and walks toward the exit.

"I apologize for what happened back there. I was merely acting to throw Hojo off guard…" Red apologizes.

'Wow this feline got manners.' Riley thought, as she looks around the place for anything to loot and to use it against the company.

"Now we've saved Aerith, ain't no need to be in this buildin'! So let's get the hell outta here!" Barret announces.

"If all seven of us go together, we'll be noticed. Let's break up into groups." Cloud advises and they divided the group. With Cloud is Aerith and Nanaki, the second group is Barret and Tifa while Mira and Riley as the third.

"Okay, meet up on the elevator in the 66th floor. Got it?" the blonde points out.

Nodding at this, the group splits and heads to the elevators... but Mira and Riley have other plans. The two girls backtrack to the tube and they quickly pick the Enemy Skill Materia. Mira equips it as her best friend returns the Blizzard to her. Then they head to the control station, where there is a person in there

"No! Please don't kill me. I only did what Hojo told me to do." he stutters out as he is found by the two. "To prove it to you... here, this is the key card to the 68th Floor. Would I be doing this if I was the enemy?"

"Could have fooled me." Mira quips as she pockets the keycard and left. They then collect the Poison Materia which they nearly forgot in the rush to save Aerith, Riley equips it and feels the nasty yet joyful presence in it.

Then...

Both girls proceeds to Floor 62 instead of meeting the others in the elevator.

**:::^*^:::**

_"It is time..."_

**:::^*^:::**

_"Finally..."_

* * *

><p>Silver: Ha, ha, yeah… reminds you of the other BFFs… Lelouch and Suzaku? I merely based Mira and Riley on their physical prowess, intelligence… no, not so smart like Lelouch but very decent enough to win 1 out of 3 in strategy game… Riley is more on fighting games as Mira is to sims. By the way, the song is Good Night by the Beatles, you have got to love the classics. Also the other song is Bye, bye by Mariah Carey… it's a bit hard to find good mello songs that would match the Lullaby, which is a sleep spell-effect. Give credit to the artists, peeps. Also Riley's mimcry Limit Break ability, will be limited within the Square Enix universe, so no anime or any other game moves.<p> 


	14. Different Roles

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird does not own Final Fantasy 7, only her OCs… Otherwise, we might end up having a not-so-epic battle with the lawsuits.)

_**Altering Rhythm**_

_**Different Roles**_

Silver: And now… their roles in this world… And sorry again if this is LATE! I was busy making my portfolio and looking for work. Seriously, this will happen once you graduate from college.

* * *

><p><strong>Different Roles<strong>

"_Sephiroth… let's go."_

**:::^*^:::**

Hiding in the library of the 62nd Floor, the girls read the manual on how to connect the correct wires on the bomb. "Okay… place this wire here, then attach the other end to the battery…" Mira narrates the books as she also directs Riley on connecting the wires correctly.

"I wonder if the Turks are looking for us?" Riley asked out of wonder as she screws the wire to the bomb.

"No idea, but I'm starting to feel sorry for the others, I mean we ditch them." she replies.

"Well, my slip up, our fault and we need to fix this. Right now, I think we got it."

"Really?" the songstress looks at the tiny thing they made… considering they are beginners, they decided to test their handmade bomb in a smaller version before they let it explode in their targeted floors.

"So… where do we test this?"

"… Uhmmm… the storage rooms on the 63rd floor? I mean the doors are made of metal"

"True… let's go explode this where the All Materia was found." as she stands and tossed the helmet to the songstress.

"… Can't believe you talked me into this." the songstress is scowling again, as the magnetic holster of the 3rd Class SOLDIER uniform they stole, which is Mira now wearing, kept attaching itself to the keytar. "Seriously, this will break the circuits in the keytar and why do I have to wear this? You can pass as a SOLDIER more than me." as she slight readjusted the bandage on her chest, which makes it flat.

"I know, but the thing is, I'll be looking for the Turk HQ." Riley points out as she straightens out the lab uniform and adjust the glasses she got from the lockers. "Besides, you'll be safe there as long as you wear that helmet."

"What about my keytar?"

"Uh… can't you stuff it in your pouches?" the mime meekly asked and the songstress stares at her. "Hey! When I gave Cloud his new sword, he just stuffs the Buster Sword in his satchel!"

"Riley…"

"I'm serious, try it with your biggest pouch you have."

Giving her friend a look before removing her belt pouches on her waist, on the back is her biggest pouch she has. The songstress looks at her for a moment, skeptical on this and looks back on her pouch. She then sighs and does what her best friend said, she opens the pouch and stuffs her keytar in and then yelps when suddenly the pouch just sucks in her instrument despite its size. Both girls stare at the pouch, half- expecting it to burp, then Mira picks it up who slightly felt the added weight on it.

"SEE!" The brunette mime cheers as the songstress looks back at her.

"… I'm now expecting a Fat Chocobo to fall on you." as she takes out a hair tie to tie her hair tail and a clip to hold her hair up and to make it look shorter.

"Hey…"

"Come on, let's test that bomb before we fire everything up." as the ravenette takes her belt pouches and puts them back on. Taking the helmet and putting it on… "I'm surprised this uniform fits."

"Asian men… unless they drink medicine that makes them taller, they are not all that towering like those Caucasians." the mime pipes cheerily and pockets the bomb.

"Hey, don't forget, we saw an extremely 6 footer Asian lady with her boyfriend who is also a six footer to the extreme." the songstress reminds her best friend.

"Aye, that's not growth, that's a friggin' mutation… plus I never get why she has worn heels when she's already a 6 footer?" the mime cringes on that memory as they zip up their pouches. They are then peeking out of their hiding place, looking around, nodding to one another and dart for the next floor.

There they went to the said room where Cloud finds the All Materia, and test the bomb. First try is dangerous, it didn't set off, so Riley has to cast Dark Fire to manually set the bomb off.

Second is the same.

But, as the saying that third time is a charm, it has successfully set off and Mira lists the procedures they need to set the bombs. They divided the explosive and needed items, then heads back to the 62nd floor to set the bombs. Once every room is set with enough explosives to spark some flame, they check their phone for enough charge and then they give each other their secret handshakes before heading off to their targets.

**:::^*^:::**

Arriving on the 51st floor, where the office of the director of the SOLDIER HQ, Mira only find a few people here and most of them are office workers.

'Weird… I thought this is where the SOLDIERs gets their missions…' she thought and proceeds to the office. There, she finds the place empty but most doors are locked, she decided to dare on using the ID they took from the 3rd Class and swipes it at one of the offices…

The door opens… only to reveal a room full of filing cabinets.

'Ack skirts… I don't think I have enough gas to fire this up.' she thought as she walks to each file and looks for anything that relates to Banora. 'Might as well take those and take a few to lead the Turks off.'

Then, as she looks for the said files, she found the file of Zack Fair in one of the cabinets and piques her interest. She takes out the file and reads it… "Okay, Fair… let's see… exams are okay… excellent grades in physical exercises… Yah-di-yah… Dead by the hands of Sephiroth… Okay, the last part is a lie, seriously Shinra." she swears as she rips the report paper on how Zack died into tiny pieces, and then packs the rest into her pouch.

She then went back to her search when she, again, finds some files that piques her interest. This time it's Genesis, Sephiroth, Angeal and Cloud. Taking them out, she reads thru all of them and packs them in case they need to find something they need to help the two remaining SOLDIERs and the hero of Gaia. "Psychological exams failed because he's too soft-hearted, full of doubts and stubborn? Oh come on… that qualifies a hero, man, the company is filled with control freaks." then pockets the file.

It wasn't long till she finds the files related to Banora and takes them out, but it is a small file only reporting about Zack's mission there with Tseng. So she looks for other files and randomly selects about 5 of them, one or two relating to Zack's work. Seeing that it doesn't need a bomb to set these on fire, she sprinkles a few flammable liquid and walks a safe distance back. Once she is at a safe distance, she then cast a very small, dart-like Thunder spell. It lit up a flame and eats the papers away, leaving the black ashes which float up then slowly falls back down.

Once she sweeps the ashes under a cabinet, she then heads out and checks other offices for files to burn.

**:::^*^:::**

Riley is not having much luck, as she looks around the place and some random scientist tells her to get the reports up to the lab… only in a safe and covered distance, she burns it up completely.

Sighing… she is about to make way for the laboratory.

"Oh come on, this is an awesome drink!" a familiar voice shouts and she ducks into a corner. She then peeks out to see Reno is trying to get Tseng to drink the cocktail she introduced to him. "I know it sound vulgar, but it is awesome and tasty drink!"

"Reno, have you found the two remaining terrorists?" Tseng asked in a stern voice, and the redhead slumps on hearing this. After she hears that he could not find them, the head of the Turks dismisses him and walks off.

Hoping that he will go to his office, she carefully follows Tseng. She follows then takes a different direction and then goes back following him to find his office when…

"Hey!" someone called and she turns to see Elena behind her.

'Oh skirts…' she mentally swore.

**:::^*^:::**

Mira rummages thru the storage room where most items are kept as proofs or vital information in SOLDIER missions, she happens to find Zack's items in it. There she finds Maiden's Kiss, a medicine at cures the Frog status, a manual about building a flower wagon, his helmet that he never uses, Genji Armor and some materias which she finds useful.

"Wow… Zack Fair, you are a hero." Mira states as she examines a yellow materia. "I'm surprised that these SOLDIERs decided not to use these, I bet they are all mastered or at least level two." as she takes the materias when… "… I don't really know if those employees are stupid or just plain ignorant, but nobody should pass up on a Bahamut FURY Materia! This summon is almost equal to the Bahamut ZERO!"

She looks at the red materia with a small image of the golden dragon in it. The materia seems to emit a purr and she stares at it before pocketing it. 'Weird…' she thought and picks some more materias.

Then…

"This is a strange summon materia…" she notes as she picks out a red materia with a symbol on it instead of an image. "I-" but she is cut short when…

"_That's the Being Materia, young one."_ a voice said behind her and the songstress turns back to see.

A lovely blonde lady in a simple yet elegant dress which shows her midriff and have pieces of navy blue and gold armor with a staff in one hand…

"… Minerva?" as the songstress gapes.

**:::^*^:::**

"What are you doing here?" the blonde Turk asked.

Riley is now mentally swearing on her bad luck and wished that she have something to get the blonde Turk off her back.

"I asked you again, what are you doing here?" the blonde asked again. "This is where the Turks are stationed."

…

'… OMG…! I think I manage to make her confess where their headquarter is…' the mime thought as she push her glasses up a bit. 'Well might as well…'

"Ummm… are you Elena?" she asked meekly with an insecure tone in her voice

"What of it?"

"Um… the receptionist kinda asked me to deliver your ID."

"I- wait, my ID is found?"

The brunette mime nodded before she covers her ears from the blonde Turks squeals and is suddenly hugged by her. "Oh my Gaia! Thank you!" Elena said happily, as she lets her go and the mime dizzily reaches into her pockets and gives the ID back to her. "My goodness, I finally have it back. I owe you and the one who found it."

"Ugh…" Riley groans as the only female Turk runs off and she shakes the dizziness off. "Well… at least I made her happy… I think…" The she turns around and begins for a search. "I better hope that redhead is drunk." she quips to herself and stalks off into the corridors.

**:::^*^:::**

Mira remains gaping like a fish on seeing the blonde goddess of the planet.

"_You better close your mouth dear, or else a fly would fly in."_ the goddess teased her as she immediately shuts her mouth. _"It's nice to finally meet you, Mira."_

"Wait, you're the one who brought us here?" the songstress asked.

"I did not, dear." the goddess stated, which made the ravenette wonder who did then… "I merely called… and you answered."

"What?" snaps back her attention to the goddess.

"_I called… and you answered."_

"We answered?"

"_No… only you. The other is forcefully bought here by a different entity."_

"Wait, you mean Riley is not suppose the be here with me? And she is bought here by someone else?"

"_Yes…"_

"But who? And why me? Why did you call me, Minerva?" gripping the Being Materia tightly in her hands.

"… _You answered."_

"I know but why did you call me? Of all people, me?"

"… _I cannot say, dear… the answer you seek, only you can find them."_

"Pffft… some goddess." she miffs as she looks away and processes the whole situation. She has no idea how she answered the goddess' calls and tries to remember how or when she heard that call.

"_I'm sorry if I couldn't provide a proper answer… but I'll tell you this."_ the songstress looks back at her._ "You are special… not like a Cetra, not like a summon or an Esper… you are very much special and we have to hide you from that Calamity till the time comes."_

"Huh?"

"_Like I said, the answer you seek, only you can find them."_ with a gentle smile on her face and gently pats the songstress on her head. _"Keep that materia with you all the times, so I can talk with you when I get a chance."_

Mira looks down at the red materia she is holding and looks back at the goddess, who bid farewell at her and vanish out of sight.

"_Don't worry, although the red knight sleeps. You'll gain an aid on the way."_

"The red knight… sleeps… wait, are you talking about Genesis?" she as looks around the hall, hoping for the goddess to answer back… only nothing. "Great… if Genesis is MIA, then who is going to help me and Riley?" she then sighs and looks at the red materia. "If I was the only one called, then who dragged my best friend into this?" she wonders.

**:::^*^:::**

After managing on looting a certain redhead's ID, she manages to access the Turk HQ and slips in. To her luck, she finds the office empty of the Turks and rubs her hands together. "Time to light up a campfire, so I can have s'mores." she stated cheerily and skips to the file storage.

There she finds heaps and heaps of reports, ranging from simple protecting the important people to assassination missions. Looking for the file related to Banora, she finds files about the Nibelhiem incident, the AVALANCHE and Zack's death. "Burning files! Burning files! Keep the creepy Turks away from learning that we don't belong here." she hums and then…

She stops and stills for a moment… Looking around, she only finds an empty office but she couldn't help to shake the feeling that she is being watched…

Or something made her spine chills…

'What the heck is that… why do I feel like, someone dunk me with an extremely cold slime.' she thought, then she shivers and rubs her arms. "Geez why do I feel something creeping on me?" as she continues on taking out the files.

When…

A tentacle sprouts out from the file cabinet, she yelps on seeing it and stumbles back on her behind. She scrambles back and looks at the cabinet… only to see it gone.

"What the heck is that?" she shouts and tries to calm herself down. As soon as she calms down, she stands up and looks at the cabinet again with her knife out. She slowly approaches the cabinet, taps it and then back away. Then she goes back and peeks in the drawer… seeing it gone, she sighs in relief and sheaths her dagger back. "I must be seeing things…" and returns on her search for the said files.

Once she finds the files involving the Banora Incident, she then picks out some random files and dumps them in one of the cabinets. Dumping a bottle of cooking oil in it, she then cast a Dark Fire and the files are set on fire.

"Well, that will lead the Turk off our tails." Riley said cheerily, and looks up at the ceiling. "Good thing this company doesn't have those sprinkler system… talk about bad security."

"_Come…"_

"Uh?"

"_I'm here…"_

"Who?" she then shakes her head and rubs her temples. "I must be hearing things… Well, there's no point staying here, I think I managed to burn the important files and looted some good info." she looks at the files in her hands and packs them up in her pouch. "Time to head for the lab and burn more stuffs there."

Making sure the files are in ashes, she peeks in the cabinet, pokes the black leftovers and its collapse when she applied a light pressure on it. Satisfied with this, she then makes way to the lab and carefully sneaks her way to the elevators. Arriving there, she pushes the up button and calmly waits for it to arrive. With a ding, the door opens and she dashes right in, quickly presses the 67th floor button and the door closes…

When a hand stops it…

"Your little stunts will end here." Tseng stated as he and Rude enters the elevator.

"Ugh, skrits…" Riley curses on her situation right now.

**:::^*^:::**

Arriving on the other SOLDIER floor, there Mira finds more SOLDIERs than on the 51st floor and adjusts her helmet. She walks briskly down the hall, looking for the room containing files and stuff they need to burn and destroy. She then decided to head to the briefing room and avoids talking from any SOLDIERs she passes by.

Once she reaches the room, she swipes the ID on the reader, the lock grants access and opens the door. She quickly slips in and shuts the door, to her relief, the room is empty and locks the door. Then she proceeds on the consoles and began looking for files related to the Banora Incident.

"Hey." a voice calls out and she nearly jerks in surprise, she then turns to see… a Second Class Soldier. "What are you doing here?"

'Damn…' she thought as she calms herself and looks back at the SOLDIER, but she didn't dare to speak… her voice will blow her cover out.

"I asked you a question, SOLDIER, what are you doing here?" the 2nd Class asked again, but again the 3rd Class didn't answer. Thinking that the 3rd class is suspicious, he decided the interrogate 'him' and marches towards the Third.

Mira panics at this and attempts to escape when…

"_Don't fear… tell him the tragic tale of the hero."_

'Tragic… then he must be…' she thought and decides to speak up. "Are you Kunsel?"

The 2nd stop and he finally confirms that the Third is an imposter by the voice, but knowing who he is, is an entire different matter. "How- no… how can you tell if I am him?" he asked.

"Zack Fair." she bluntly said out straightly and the 2nd freezes on that. The songstress can tell very little of his reaction due to his helmet, but she is sure that he will let her talk about the Ex-SOLDIER whom she and Riley could not save. "I was sent here by him as his… last wish." she stated grimly.

"… Wait, last…? You mean…" Kunsel said in shock to hear the dreadful news about his friend.

"Yeah… he passed away a few days ago."

That's when the 2nd seem to slump at hearing the news and bows his head. "Then… it's true… he's-"

"I'm sorry to deliver the bad news, but he tried getting back here… when we found him again, he is dying after a one-man battle against a platoon of Shinra troopers."

"Damn… wait, Shinra killed Zack?"

"Yes… I'm not lying, there are probably still some Shinra equipments littered back in the wasteland."

"I knew Shinra is bad, but I never thought they were that rotten!" and he punches the wall near him, as he takes a breather and looks at back at her. "Can you tell how you met him and how he died?"

"Sure… I'm Mira, by the way." she quips and removes the helmet. She then explains (lied) their first meeting which is on the road to Gongaga, where she and Riley first meet him and his catatonic friend. They watched over the blonde as the Ex-1st goes to battle against a Genesis clone and after he came out victorious from the cloned red swordsman, they left for Cosmo Canyon. The second and last meeting they have is that when they were heading for Midgar. On the way there, they find litters of sliced up guns, broken swords, exploded grounds and… a dying Zack. They were not on time to save him, but he tells them to look after Cloud for them before he passed away. "Then we arrived in Midgar and found him but… there is something wrong with him…"

"Wrong? Like what?" he asked.

"His actions and personality… is almost like Zack himself." she points out and the 2nd looks at her. "We tried asking him a few questions on Zack would know, but he does not remember the incident involving the Genesis clones back in the highway. The only thing he remembers is the Nibelhiem Incident."

"I see… but why did Cloud decide to act like him?"

"From what Zack told us, they were both experimented on by Hojo… probably that and Zack's death caused a trauma in him, then his mind creates that persona to protect himself."

"Well shit… not only Shinra is rotten, so does their genius!"

"I prefer to call that guy a one crazed-up, retarded, inhumane fruit-loop that should be tied in a straight jacket, stuffed in a chest, then in a safe and then throw it into the bottom of the ocean so he'll never experiment on life ever again." she points out.

"Nice but long description, Mira." he stated and place his hands on his hips. "It seems that I'm getting that retirement after all."

"Eh?"

"Oh come on, you think after hearing my friend got killed by this company that I'll work with them like it's nothing?"

Mira scratches her head on that one before shrugging. "Well, I'm going to put some ground rules then… especially on Cloud."

"Cloud?"

"Yeah, we are apparently trying to make him remember his real memories, but we have very little knowledge of the event that goes around him."

"… So then, you're here to get the files involving Cloud?"

"That and wiping some information." she chirps, as she takes out a bomb from her pouch and looking quite smug. "After all, the one who have the most knowledge, is the most threatening one."

**:::^*^:::**

'Damn, damn, damn, skrits…' the mime thought as she is currently surrounded by Tseng and Rude. 'Okay… I need to get out of this, but how…'

"Mind pressing the 67th floor?" Tseng asked.

'Eh…? Oh… right, the prison is near the lab… who the heck is the architect of this building? Building the prison near the labs, what do you think of prisoners of? Fresh lab rats? … Must be the fruit-loop's idea.' the brunette thought as she presses the 67th floor and the elevator moves to her intended target floor with the two Turks. Looking at the two and sizing up the situation, she could outrun and trick into thinking she tries to get away from them and come back to the elevator.

Deciding on her risky plan and having an idea where to hide, she positions herself on a run like one of those American Footballer. Both Turks notices her strange stance, which looks like she is tired and supporting herself with her hands on her knees. They look at one another, thinking that she is up to something or seems to be exhausted from running around the building in search for their base.

Speaking of their HQ, Tseng moves toward her and is about to take her pouch when she suddenly jumps away from him like he is about to burn her. On noticing the black-haired Turk is reaching for her pouch, she did the only reaction that is natural to her in Dodgeball: Avoid the ball… Or in this situation, avoid the Turk.

"Sir?" Rude asked, wondering about the mime's reaction to his leader.

"I know you burnt some file but you also took some files from our storage." Tseng points out, looking at the brunette with a stern look. "Those files that you burnt are only a mere distraction to lead us off from your real target."

'Smart… but not that smart.' Riley thought as she is on guard again. 'Our real plan is to destroy the Banora-related files, the files I got is about the incidents this frigging company made.' she then looks up on the numbers and her eyes sparks a bit. 'Nearing the target floor…'

With a ding, the door opens…

And suddenly a pair of disgusting-looking monsters charges inside and leaps right for them. Because both Turks are focused on taking back some of the stolen files and prevent her from escaping, they are not prepared for this sudden attack. Riley, on the other hand who kept her eyes on the door, is able to evade it and made a mad dash out. And as she dashes out, she quickly presses the ground floor button as the two struggles to fend off the loose specimens. She stops for a moment to see the elevator door closes as the two manages to get the specimens off them, but is too late to get out. Sighing relief and is somewhat thankful on the loose experiments, she continues her way to the said laboratory.

… Only to stop to find the facility empty and spots a trail of blood towards her target.

'Oh crap… don't tell me he's here already!' she thought, as she quickly presses herself to a wall and carefully sneaks her way to the laboratory. Passing by the prisons and following the trail of blood, she also finds a very unwelcoming sight of mutilated corpses and nearly gags on the smell of fresh kill. The mime continues on her way till she reaches the area where Jenova is… and there she spots a certain silver hair.

Suddenly, she drops herself on the floor when a blade beam heads her way, nearly slicing her head off. 'Too close! TOO CLOSE!' she thought as she panics and her heart throbs so fast that it might burst out of her ribs. Taking out her dagger, she quickly runs away from the ex-general and quickly retreats back to the elevator… only to jump back when he appeared before her, avoiding his blade in a few inches and made a mad dash back to the laboratory.

'Ugh! This is crap-tastic!' she swears in her mind, as she jumps to avoid the blade beam that effectively slice the boxes in half. "Matra Magic!" she cast right back at Sephiroth and missed when he disappears. "Dang… I hate that loony fruit-loop right now." she muttered under her breath.

But… when she turns and there, she meets the ex-general SOLDIER face-to-face. Eyes widening on such closeness between her and the general, she would've blushed on such short space between them if it weren't for the fact that all of her blood is drained out and he is intent on killing her.

"Not bad, but your luck has run out." he stated as he grabs her by her shirt and tosses her up into the air. He then jumps after her, intending to finish her in one strike.

"Not yet!" Riley shouts back and cast another Matra Magic, which the silver general easily avoided and sliced apart. Then she waves her right arm and hand in a strong motion, then brings her said hand in front of her and fisting it. Then the Mantra Magic changes direction and goes after the ex-general. "Well, this scene looks familiar." she quips, as the gravity takes hold and she begins to fall down. "Whoa!" she yelps as she falls and the ex-general is able to slice all the magic projectiles that targeted him.

Then the unexpected happens…

As the mime falls, the tank that houses the Calamity of the Sky made banging noises and Sephiroth looks surprised at this. "… Mother…?" he said softly, and then with a final bang, the metal door unhinges and flew off to another side of the laboratory. Then the tentacles shoot out and catches the brunette before she hits the ground, with the mime yelping in shock, fear and the ooze the tentacle have.

"Ack! Let go of me!" Riley shouts out of shock and stabs the tentacle with her dagger, which effectively bought pain to the alien and loosen its grip on her.

"Mother!" Sephiroth shouts as he lands on his feet and the mime lands on her bottom. Angry that the brunette hurt his Mother, he is about to launch himself at her when… "What…? Why?" he asked, stopping in confusion.

As the mime winces for her sore butt, her entire body freezes on the sight she sees… Walking out from the tank, is a gray skin woman filled with bruises, like the skin from the zombies from Resident Evil. Deformed wings twitches and tentacles wave about from her huge heart she is carrying. Eyes that surround her body twitches and blink, liquid that surrounds her in the tank flows out, mixing with the blood on the floor. But that is not the disturbing thing… despite it got no head, eyes around her body, it got no mouth… it manages to talk.

"It is fine, my dear." the voice sounds deformed like having multiple voices layered on one another, yet seems to be gentle and motherly. "I'm not hurt."

"But she-"

"Do not attempt to kill her, do you understand?" she cuts in and scolds him like every mother do to their naughty children, as one of her tentacles takes the dagger away and throws it far from the mime's reach. Then the 'thing' turns around as Riley scrambles to get up, only to be held down by the alien tentacle. As she tries to get away, Jenova hovers above her and the mime freezes when they made eye contact.

"I have waited… for so long…." the Calamity stated and reaches for her… only to slowly retreat her hands away from the brunette. "Yet… that is in the way." she stated and removes herself from the mime, thus taking this chance to get up and back away from the two.

"Mother, why do you want to spare her?" Sephiroth asked, his eyes never leaving at the brunette who is now shaking and supporting herself on a metal ladder.

"She is important, my dear…"

"Important? How?"

"Important as I am to you. Now come, the puppet is about to rise."

"Yes Mother." he gave the mime one last look, before he follows his Mother to the elevator used to transport specimens. As they rise up to the next floor…

Riley falls to her knees, then falls forward and blacking out.

"_Don't fret… I'm sure you'll remember."_

"_For now, stay with the puppet… For he will guide you back to me."_

* * *

><p>Silver: I. So. Hate. This. Chapter… I got quite a writer's block when writing this. Not only that, I have to go into some job interviews and update my portfolio… hopefully I get the job on the company that just called now. Sorry for the long wait… but seriously, this is not my best chapter and I'm thinking of remaking it again at some point. And yes, Mira found some interesting Materias including Bahamut FURY… I mean, seriously, what happen to that dragon after Crisis Core? Anyway, read and review!<p> 


	15. Exit Stage Left

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird does not own Final Fantasy 7 or the incoming songs, only her OCs… Otherwise, we might end up having a not-so-epic battle with the lawsuits.)

_**Altering Rhythm**_

_**Exit, Stage Left**_

Silver: Time for them to get the heck out of Midgar!

**Exit, Stage Left**

* * *

><p>At the 45th floor…<p>

"Okay… ready?"

"Yeah… this place is… just not the same anymore."

"When one becomes power-hungry, that person becomes blind to see that evil is on it's tail."

"True…"

"Right… in 3, 2, 1, fire in the hole."

**BOOM! Rumble…!**

Both Mira and Kunsel peeks in the room to see the damage and to her surprise and to his shock, the explosion did more damage than what they did in the 49th floor. "Wao… I think it is a really bad idea to combine the remaining C4, which were not used on some floors." she stated out, as the explosion manages to make some holes on the walls and destroyed quite a number of windows.

As the Ex-2nd SOLDIER assess the damage around, the songstress, back in her original outfit, tilts her head for a moment before shaking it. 'I swear I don't know if I'm going to lose my mind or murder that goddess… if the latter is possible.' she thought, as she scowls a bit before looking away when her new companion looks back at her.

"Well, this will rise the bounty on our heads…. Dead or alive." he points out.

"Yikes… but damage done, we need to shake them off on our real agenda and got the info we need." she points out, as she fix the strap on her shoulder. "Anyway, shall we go? I don't want to keep the rest of the team waiting."

"But…"

"Kunsel, we can shake them off. I swear to it."

"Well… I guess I'll leave the situation to your hand then."

"Okay, let's head to the lab, I'll introduce you to the rest of the party." she stated before she shakes her head. 'Ugh… there goes my three year of therapy and hypnotism sessions. I better cool down a bit or else… oh snap…'

As Kunsel is about to head to the elevator, he stops when he notices that she is not following and turns to see Mira is frozen on her spot. "Mira?" he calls out, but she did not budge. "Mira. Mira!" he called a little louder and went to her. "MIRA!" he shouts.

That snaps out of her trance and looks at him. "Wha?" she asked.

"Are you okay?"

"… Yeah." she stated meekly and she hastily walks pass him, she then looks back at him. "We need to get to the lab… I got a real funky feeling that something is going on." and it is no lie, she knew this is the time where Sephiroth kills the president.

As the elevator came, Mira takes one last look back and winces on what she sees… at least she knew why Minerva sees her different from the Cetras.

**:::^*^:::**

Arriving on the 67th floor, both Kunsel and Mira stick themselves on the wall and carefully threads around the facility… only to stop when they see the blood trail.

And Mira once more winces on what she sees again. 'Skrits… I wish to be blind, these are the last things I want to see ever.' she thought, as Kunsel kneels down and checks the trail.

"It's not fresh but it is slightly dry, it seem the one who did this was here a few moments ago." he stated after judging the blood.

"Crap… Riley!" she the remembers her best friend, then remembers the others in the cells. "Ugh, Kunsel can you try to find Riley? She's somewhere in the lab."

"Eh? Wait, where are you going?" he asked, as he stands up.

"I have to get the party out of the cells."

"I see, take this." he gives her a few potion and items needed. "Be careful."

"Right, and tell Riley your name and that you're with me, kay?"

The Ex-2nd SOLDIER gives her a thumbs up and left for the lab, then she makes her way to the cells, there she sees a guard dead and then winces on the "other" thing she's seeing beside the dead body.

"The door's open…" she hears a familiar voice and turns to see Cloud step out of the cell. "When did it open?" he then sees her and the dead guard. "Mira?"

"Before you say anything, I'm shock to see a dead guard as you are." she quickly stated and kneels down to see the wound on the dead body.

"You didn't kill this guard?" he asked.

"I'm a pacifist not a psychopath." she stated bluntly and gives him a look. "Besides, these damages are inflicted by a sword or a blade, do you think my keytar have a sharp edge?" she asked sarcastically as she looks back and reaches for the key, she froze for a second before she quickly snatch the key from the belt and gives them to Cloud. "Come on, get the others out, I have to check on the new recruit and Riley."

"What?" But before he can even asked about the new recruit, she immediately left. Snapping back to the situation he and the others are now in, he rushes back to the cell where Tifa is. "Tifa… Wake up!"

The female fighter groans as she groggily wakes up and looks at him. "What's wrong?" she asked only to snap herself awake when she sees the door open and the blonde is standing outside.

"Something's wrong. Look outside."

She immediately stands up and heads outside, there she sees the dead body. "I wonder what happened…" she gasped in shock and horror.

"Come on, Tifa, get Aerith. I'll go help Barret and the others." he tosses the key for Aerith's cell, he then goes and open the cell door with Barret and Red XIII inside. He shakes them awake and Barret seems to be baffled on seeing the blonde.

"How'd you get in?" he asked out of confusion. "Why's the door open!" he then runs out of the cell and sees the dead guard. "The hell's goin' on!"

"No human could've done this." Red stated, as he too walks out of the cell and sees the dead body. "I'll go on ahead."

" I'll clean up back here, so you guys go ahead. And don't get caught by Shinra!" the AVALANCHE leader stated and grabs the body.

**:::^*^:::**

"Kunsel!" Mira calls and the Ex-Second turns to see her as he checks on a unconscious Riley on the floor. "Wha? You knock her out?"

"Uh, no, I just found her like this." he stated out with honesty. "So this is Riley?"

"Yeah, what happen to her…?"

"Well, judging by the place, it seems she got into a fight." he then looks at the tank that contains the Jenova specimen. "Plus that tank seems ripped out from the inside. In addition, there are some blade marks around, I think she got into a fight with a SOLDIER or something like that."

'Oh, I think I know who did this.' Mira thought, as Red comes running in. "Red."

"Mira… and who's this?" the feline creature asked.

"It talks?" the Ex-SOLDIER gawks and the songstress refrains herself from giggling as Red rolls his eyes.

"Red, this is Kunsel, he decided to switch sides after he learned the nasty tales about this company." the songstress explains and the feline looks at her. "What? He's good, plus an additional recruit wouldn't hurt."

"… Very well." then Red looks at the ripped tank. "The specimen…"

"It seems it became active." Kunsel explained.

"Active?"

"The tank is ripped out from the inside." pointing at the way the metal bend and the hinges of the door.

"So that thing is alive…? Mira?" Red asked, noticing her staring blankly again.

On hearing the feline, she quickly snaps back and shakes her head. "Uh? What is it, Red?" she asked.

"You've been staring blankly." Kunsel points out.

"Uh… sorry, there is something in my mind." she stated and cursed inwardly. 'Once I get myself some privacy, I'm going to have a talk with that goddess.'

Then they hear a groan and they look at the waking brunette, at the same time Cloud, Tifa and Aerith comes into the scene. "Oh my, is Riley okay?" Aerith asked.

"She coming thru." the songstress answered.

"IT'S A FRIGGIN MUTATED OCTOPUS!" Riley yells suddenly causing everyone to jump out of surprise.

"Uh… probably a concussion added." the ravenette added meekly.

"What happened here and who's this?" Cloud asked.

"Jenova Specimen… Looks like it went to the upper floor using that elevator for the specimens." Red explains. "As for him, he said that he quits Shinra after learning it's nasty story."

"They killed my friend, that's what they did!" Kunsel stated and the songstress gives the former Second a warning look as Tifa gasped and Aerith covers her mouth. "Do you think I would work for them after learning that they killed my friend?"

"Oh my…" Aerith stated.

"Shinra…" Tifa snarled the company's name with more hatred.

"Ugh… What?" Riley said, snapping the two ladies back as she gets up. "Uh? What's going on?" she asked.

"Riley, are you okay?" Tifa asked.

"If you call doing an extreme version of dodge ball, only it's not a ball but a freakishly long sword trying to kill you and witnessing that horrible thing walk out of the tank okay? Then I'm whoopee-do." the mime stated sarcastically, as she groan a bit and rubs her forehead.

"Long sword?" the Ex-Second asked.

"It's like 7 or 8 feet long." she stated and that snapped both attention of Cloud and Tifa. Mira notices this and they knew what's going into their heads, she is quickly on her guard just in case either of them tries to rat an answer out of her recovering best friend.

"There's only one who can use that extremely long sword." the Ex-Second said and looks at the group. "But he's dead… right?"

Mira shrugs, pretending she is clueless and looks at the others. She slightly cringes on seeing the grim looks on Tifa and Cloud, and turns away. "Uh… I think we should follow the blood trail, maybe we'll find out who did this." she quickly suggests.

"Man…" the mime said and gets up. "Give me a moment here, I need to get out of this gross-slime-covered clothes."

"Kunsel, go with the others, I'll watch over Riley here." the songstress said and the former SOLDIER gives he a look before nodding. "And remove that helmet, you're quitting remember?"

"Ah yeah." he said and than takes his helmet off, revealing his dark brown hair and the blue mako eyes. What stumps her a bit is that he looks quite handsome, and she swears that all the male in Final Fantasy are metro sexual.

'Seriously… Square Enix… you make impossible good-looking men that you make fan girls go gaga on them… especially yaoi fans, especially them.' she thought as she takes the helmet and throws it away. "Another thing, make sure you keep your distance from Cloud." she hissed to him in a low volume and gives him a stern look. Kunsel gives her a nod and joins the others to follow the blood trail, once they left…

"Okay, you fought against Sephiroth? I thought you want to help him snap his humanity back?" the songstress asked as Riley removed the lab coat and she lends her wet wipes to her.

"Meer, trying yelling and asking him to stop when he is totally intent to kill any witnesses." the mime said and toss a pouch to her. "Mind attaching those C4 to the computers and hardware. I never got a chance to destroy those info when Silver-head arrived here first."

"Okay, but what happen?" as she proceed attaching them on the computers in this floor.

"Jenova happen… she's like a slimy zombie in Resident Evil, yuck." she shivered, as she finds a good place to change in private, quickly remove her slimy clothing and proceed on putting her outfit. "For some reason, they want me to survive… well, Jenova wants me to survive."

"Eh? Why?"

"No idea, my mind went blank when that creepy thing touch me." she shivers as she puts on her boots. "Her tentacles are slimy and cold!" she stated with her eyes twitching. "You're lucky you didn't meet Mrs. Creep."

"Not exactly." Mira deadpanned at her best friend, Riley look at her. "No, I did not meet the alien, but I did meet someone else."

"Who?"

"Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess. We seek it thus and take it to the sky." Mira quotes.

"Genesis?"

"Uh no, I met Minerva."

"Eh? EH?" The mime nearly shrieks and looks at her best friend. "You met the goddess of this planet?"

"Yeah…"

"That's more better than my encounter with Mrs. Creep!"

"Actually, it's the opposite." the brunette looks at her and Mira quickly explains why and Riley looks stump, with one eye twitching.

"I don't believe that." the mime deadpans

"And I happens to last longer when it comes to magic." the songstress points out.

"Okay, I'll choose to believe it for now." the mime said in a deadpan tone. "But I don't get it, you have that and you wanted it gone. I'm starting to think you're not just a songstress…" then she pauses for a while and thinks. "Yeah, normal songstress don't do status-spells when they perform, in this world."

"Ugh, and the worse day ever."

"I met Jenova and Sephiroth yet lived to tell the tale, and you met Minerva and you have THAT ability." then the mime rethinks of it again. "I don't know… me, almost getting killed or you, got THAT."

"Okay, they're both bad." the songstress stated with a sigh, then she freezes again.

"You see something again?" Riley asked as she equip the pouch and her best friend nodded. "Considering Midgar is a massacre site, I say let's go meet with the others and bomb the rest later!" the mime then drag her best friend to the top office and they meet Barret along the way.

**:::^*^:::**

Once the three reunites with Cloud's group, they heads to the 68th floor and met up with Red XIII again.

" It looks like it leads up…" the feline points out and runs up the stairs.

They continue following the blood path till they arrive at the president's office. There, they witnessed the president sitting dead with a sword impaled on him at the back.

"He's dead… The leader of Shinra, Inc. is dead…" Barret stated out of shock, and is surprise that someone killed the president.

"Then this sword must be…!" Tifa gasped seeing the sword, as Mira comes to a freezing halt.

"Sephiroth's!" Cloud declared.

"_NO…!"_

"…Sephiroth is alive?" the bar maid asked.

"…Looks like it. Only Sephiroth can use that sword." the blonde Ex-SOLDIER stated.

"Who cares who did it!" Barret seems to shout for joy. "This is the end of the Shinra now!"

"_The Promised Land is mine!"_

Then Riley notices something and nudge Kunsel to a direction, and there he too sees something moving. He quickly made his move and caught someone.

"P, p, p, please!" The fat man squealed and both girls remembers that Palmer is the only witness in this scene. "Don't kill me!"

"_You…"_

Riley notices Mira's expression, she's paling a bit and light sweat is dripping down. She know what's going on and smartly elbowed her by the side. "Ow!" Mira yelped and glares at the mime as the brunette gives her an apologetic and concern look.

"What happened?" Cloud demanded.

"Se …Sephiroth. Sephiroth came." The fat man stutters.

"Did you see him?" The blonde demanded once more. "Did you see Sephiroth?"

"Yeah, I saw him! I saw him with my own eyes!"

"_I know you can hear me."_

"You really saw him?" The blonde Ex-SOLDIER wanting more answer.

"Uh! Would I lie to you at a time like this! And I heard his voice too! Um, he was saying something about not letting us have the Promised Land."

"Then what? Does that mean that the Promised Land really exist and that Sephiroth's here to save it from Shinra?" Tifa asked with a hint anger and suspicion in her tone, both girls knew the female fighter does not believe that Sephiroth is good.

'Okay, maybe I should start giving the bar maid a therapy first.' Mira thought.

'And… there she goes… again.' Riley thought.

"So he's a good guy then?" Barret said

"Save the Promised Land? A good guy? No way! It's not that simple! I know him! Sephiroth's mission is different!" Cloud snapped.

'Sephiroth is actually a tragic guy… Blame the fruit-loop" both girls thought at the same time. Then they hear something and turns to see a Shinra Helicopter by the window, Palmer uses this distraction to shake off Kunsel's grip and ran for the copter that is hovering by the balcony.

"Rufus! $ *%! I forgot about him!" Barret swears.

"Rufus? You mean the dead president's son?" Riley asked.

"Yep, it's the idiot's son." The AVALANCHE leader replies, seeing the copter, they wasted no time to go after it, heading to the balcony.

"Are you okay?" the mime asked the songstress.

"I'm good, I just need… adjustments." her best friend replied as Cloud and Kunsel burst the door down. There they see Palmer scrambling into the copter, as a blonde man in a white suit seem to be thinking and ignoring the sudden barge of the balcony door.

"So… Sephiroth was actually here. …By the way…" he stated and turns to see the group. "Who are you guys?"

"I'm Cloud, former SOLDIER First Class!"

"Kunsel, former SOLDIER Second Class!"

"I'm from AVALANCHE!" Barret shout out.

"Same here!" Tifa declared.

"Travelers!" Both Mira and Riley stated, then they look at one another.

"…a flower girl from the slums." Aerith admitted.

"…a research specimen." Red stated calmly, as both girls stares at the last two.

"They don't have much confidence, do they?" Riley whispered to the songstress and she replied with a shrug.

"What a crew." he sighs as he comb his hair back, for both Mira and Riley the gesture he used reminds them of a guy-trying-to-flirt-with-a-girl. "Well, I'm Rufus. The President of Shinra, Inc."

"You only President, 'cause yer old man died!" the AVALANCHE leader snaps at him.

"That's right. I'll let you hear my new appointment speech." Rufus stated and approaches the group.

"…Old man tried to control the world with money. It seems to have been working." he looks at Aerith, who looks back at him with contempt which he merely shrugs off and walks to Cloud and Kunsel. "The population thought that Shinra would protect them. Work at Shinra, get your pay." He looks between the 1st and 2nd. "If a terrorist attacks, the Shinra army will help you. It looks perfect on the outside." Then he raise his hand. "But, I do things differently. I'll control the world with fear. It takes too much to do it like my old man." as he walks back to his original position. "A little fear will control the minds of the common people. There's no reason to waste money on them."

"He likes to make speeches just like his father." Tifa said, clearly not amuse on having a new tyrant ruling other Gaia again.

"I wonder if he heard about karma." Mira whispered in a deadpan tone as the mime holds her giggles.

Then Cloud turns to Barret. "Get outta this building with Aerith!" he barked at the AVALANCHE leader.

"What?" the black man seem shock and confused on that.

"I'll explain later! Barret! This is the real crisis for the Planet!"

"The hell's that supposed to mean?"

"I'll tell you later! Just take my word for it now! I'll go after I take care of him!" he hears Barret agreeing to his suggestion and the group left. But then, Riley steps up and stands beside him, he looks at her.

"What? You think I'll let you do this alone?" the brunette stated as she takes out a pair of tonfas, she just looted from a pair of troopers.

"I can handle this."

"Nope, not leaving you."

"Riley! Just go!"

"Not listening, blondie!" the mime snaps back and on cue a mutated cat, which Riley recognizes as Dark Nation, jumps out of the copter and lands beside Rufus. "See!" she bluntly points out the mutated cat. And the Ex-SOLDIER seem slightly annoyed at the new excuse.

**:::^*^:::**

"I'll assist Cloud, you better watch over Aerith."

"Are you sure about this?"

"No big, besides I got this."

"Did you stole those?"

"Yeah, I'm starting to think that I should get bit of better weapons, of sorts. Anyway, you better prepare yourself for the elevator fight."

"Okay, be careful."

"Same to you."

That's the last conversation Mira and Riley have, as group goes down to the 69th floor when Aerith stops for a moment.

"Cloud... I just thought of something." the Cetra thought.

"Don't worry, he got Riley to watch over his back." the songstress points out.

Still unsure, Tifa decided to wait for the two and ushers the others to head down. After a short debate between Barret and the bar maid, the group heads for the elevator as the female fighter is left behind. Mira quickly presses the down button and to her surprise that the door opens immediately. They quickly file into the elevator and she press the down button, the songstress immediately checks her equipment and materias, along with the items.

'Okay… I got my materias and some of Zack's materias….' she thought as she digs and checks each one of them. 'Okay, Bahamut FURY out, I don't think we got the space to summon such beast here… Dualcast is good…' she thought and takes the independent materia, placing it into the only free slot she got. 'Let's see… I don't think the Blizzard will do good with the Hundred and Heli Gunner.' she then puts away her Blizzard materia and replaces it with a Shinra-Manufactured Barrier Materia, she notices the difference between the natural materia to a man-made one. 'Wow… the feeling is a bit choppy on this one.'

As she puts on a Tri-Thundaga… Kunsel alerts the group with another elevator which is moving fast than the normal. When the other elevator comes to their level, there they saw a heavy armed tank and shoots the glass away as the others lay low. Mira quickly conjures out a Barrier to protect the others, but the said protection is short lived and faded away.

'Note to self, throw away man-made materias back into the planet, Shinra sucks on making it.' the songstress thought as she and the others gets up.

Barret wasted no time firing away as Kunsel cast his own Thunder at it. Aerith doesn't have any materia, so she rushes to her and provide cover. "Here." Mira stated as she manage to take out a Fire and Cure. "I found these in some storage, plus I think the Cure materia is able to cast Cura."

The brunette thank her and equips the two materias, as the songstress gets up and cast Thunder twice at the machine. Red got hit a few times but that causes him to use his Limit Break on the tank, and once he returns back to our side Aerith cast Cura on him. Then there is a short explosion erupted from the tank and it's machine guns are turn away.

"Yes! We got it now!" Barret shouts out with glee, when Kunsel notices the head.

"Not yet!" the Ex-Second shouts and positions his sword in defense.

"Barrier!" the ravenette quickly cast a barrier to herself and Aerith, thanks to the Dualcast. The Hundred Gunner shoots at them with the Main Artillery, the other three without barriers scrambles to get out of range. But fighting in an elevator is really an obstacle, Kunsel nearly trips over Red as Barret kept shooting back and standing firm on his spot as a bullet or two miss his foot by an inch.

Mira keeps casting Thunder and Tri-Thundaga on the tank and cast Haste on the party to speed up the battle. And before the tank could shoot it's last artillery, both Kunsel and the songstress cast thunder and frying it's circuits completely.

"Is it over?" Aerith asked as the tank slumps with a bit of sparks and small explosions. Then they hears something shifting and gears clanking in the tank, and it wasn't long till the Heli Gunner emerges from the tank.

"Next time, don't jinx it." Mira quips at the flower girl as the flying machine zips around them and what remains of the tank exploded into tiny bits.

She quickly cast thunder at the flying machine, only it zips around a lot and she miss. The flying machine shoot back with it's cannons and the group scrambles to get out of the way, as Mira cast Barrier at Kunsel and Aerith. She then quickly ducks down when the machine attempts to attack her with a drill and cast Thunder at it before zipping away.

"That machine is starting to get on my nerves." as she cast another Thunder at it, only it got miss again. "Oh come on!"

"_Relax…"_

'Uh?'

"_Let it flow and take form."_

"Let it…" she whispers, as unknowingly relaxes her stance and stretch her hands out like she is going to catch water. She feels the electricity flowing out of the two materia and pouring itself into her hands.

And to the party's surprise, wings sprouts out from the gathered Thunder spell of the songstress' hands.

**:::^*^:::**

"Why do you want to fight me?" the newly appointed Shinra president asked, as he sets his shotgun.

"You seek the Promised Land and Sephiroth." the blonde Ex-SOLDIER snaps at him.

"Hm, exactly." Rufus answered back. "Mm? Did you know that Sephiroth is an Ancient?"

'Ancient, my ass.' Riley thought, as she grips on her new weapons hard. 'You and your company just created the world's own friggin end.'

"…A lot has happened. Anyway, I can't let either you or Sephiroth have the Promised Land!" Cloud shouts at him.

"I see. I guess this means we won't become friends." and then the dark feline charges to strike the brunette down. She jumps away as she spins her tonfas and charge back at the feline. Meanwhile, Cloud attempts to land a hit on the new president, only to take a defensive position when Rufus shoots him. But he immediately stops when he sees the brunette cast Mantra Magic towards him and avoids it.

'What the heck?' Riley thought dumbfounded as she saw how he avoided her spell. 'Did he just dance or something to avoid that?"

Once more, he shoot but this time he aims for Riley and Dark Nation switches to the blonde Ex-SOLDIER. But the brunette takes this as a chance and charges to the new president. Rufus sees her about to attack, he shoots at her but only to miss as she zig-zags toward him. And it didn't take long till, she got close and lands two strikes on his abdomen and chin.

'Oooh… That's going to give him a split chin.' she thought smugly as she quickly jumps away from being shot point blank. She quickly backs away and avoids the bullets, she then tries to help Cloud only she have to dodge the bullets and couldn't help him.

"Aye… you're getting on my nerves." she hissed and attempts to strike him down again, only to hit something else than her intended target. "Wha?" she utters only remember that Dark Nation have the ability to protect it's master. "I hate that… cat-dog thing…?" she stated angrily with confusion as she yelps when she felt her left arm hurt and jumps away. 'Need to get rid of that thing!' she thought.

Then suddenly she got an answer, when a creature appears and stomps down Dark Nation harshly. Both men are surprise seeing the new creature, but Riley recognizes what beast it is. 'Is that a Griffon?' she thought. 'It looks… different.'

True to her thought, the new creature is more white and electric blue with dark gray beak and claws. She knew the monster is an air-type, but it puzzles her on why it can emit electricity. Before Dark Nation could bite the claw off, the griffon releases a strong shock which causes for the dark creature to wail in pain. And that shock is enough to kill it.

Seeing his dark companion electrocuted by the Griffon, Rufus decided to retreat. "Heh, that's all for today." and grabs the Shinra Helicopter's landing bar and got away from the scene.

"Hey!" Riley shouts, as well as the Griffon roars at it and then it looks at the mime. "What are you looking at?" she snaps and looks back at the creature, only to hear it cooed and purr.

"Seriously?" as the Griffon rubs it's head on her shoulder, but she didn't expect the static. "Gah! My hair!" she yelps when her hair spikes up.

"It's… friendly…" Cloud said, a bit surprise to see such a friendly monster. He kinda expect it to be another Rufus' pet or a wild specimen from the lab, but not this. Not letting their friends wait any longer, both of them heads to the elevator with the Griffon just behind them. Once they meet up with Tifa and she is also surprise on seeing the Griffon just behind them, they quickly heads off to the elevators.

**:::^*^:::**

"That's a lot of people outside."

After recovering from their last battle, Mira's group just arrived on the ground floor and finds out that they are trap.

"&^&%…surrounded, huh? If I was alone this wouldn't be a thang but, I gotta reputation to protect." The AVALANCHE leader stated with a shrug.

"You all get out while you can. It's not you they're after…it's me." The flower girl said.

"Yeah, well that ain't happenin'. You got caught up in this over Marlene. Now, it's my turn to watch out for you!" he said to her and then turns to the entrance. "Ok, playtime's over for you jackasses…"

"…thank you, Mr. Barret!"

"Who you callin' Mr. Barret? That don't sound right!"

"Got any plans?" Kunsel asked Mira, as Red and Barret exchange banter.

"Well… no, Riley is the usual risk-taker in all this." the songstress replied.

"Barret!" they turn to see Tifa at the balcony and she's waving at them.

"Tifa! Where's Cloud?" Barret hollered back

"Everyone, over here!" the bar maid motions them to go to her she is right now.

"Huh? What's up? Where's Cloud?"

"Don't stand there like a footstool and get up here!" Riley shouts and the groups are gobsmack on what they're seeing.

"Riley, is it safe to ride on that?" The Ex-Second asked, seeing the Griffon she's riding on.

"Yeah, it kinda wanted me to ride on it. Why…?" The mime replied.

"Because that's the creature Mira created out of her Thunder spells!"

"Ay-WHAT?" and the mime looks at her best friend as the songstress flush at that and turns away. 'Oh, we will so have a talk after this!' she thought, as she gets the Griffon to herd the group to where Cloud and Tifa are.

Tifa quickly motions them to board a truck with her driving, as Kunsel takes a motorcycle and Cloud appears on a motorcycle of his own. They then drive up to the next floor and then out of the building by shattering the glass window, Mira, Barret and Red have to duck down as the Shinra Troopers tries to shoot them down. Riley, on the Griffon, steer it towards the troopers and sent them some Thunder spells, as the group landed safely on the freeway. Cloud and Kunsel readies their swords against the incoming Shinras, as the mime and the Griffon tails behind the truck just in case. The two Ex-SOLDIERs fights the incoming Shinra soldiers on motorcycles, those that are able to slip them off are shock away by the Griffon or is shot down by Barret.

"Mira, can we keep him?" Riley joked as she smirks at the fallen trooper and the hybrid cries in victory.

It wasn't long till they see the dead end and Riley sees a big vehicle just behind them.

"Uh-oh, incoming!" the mime calls out as the Griffon uses Thunder to immediately weaken the machine. Once they reach the dead end, they stop and disembarks their vehicles.

Tifa quickly uses her Limit Break, but the last two strikes didn't land as the Motor Ball attempts to strike back at her. Luckily, she is protect by the Barrier spell that Mira quickly casted and the female fighter quickly backs away. Both Cloud and Kunsel charges in to slice it's arms off, only they got hit by the spike wheels.

Riley is ready to cast her own Thunder at it, when she feels something on her materia. Looking at it, she suddenly gains the knowledge to cast the Thundara. "Wow, my materia just leveled up." she quips and cast the stronger spell at the machine, giving it more damage. And she wasn't the only one, Mira sings to cast Haste on the party, she then dances with the song. And the next thing she know, the group sees the machine moving slowly and the mime recognizes the move. "Mira, are you Slow Dancing?" the mime asked.

The songstress stops for a moment and shrugs and the next thing they know, the machine is moving normally and nearly scorch them with it's Twin Burner. Once the fire stops, Red quickly jumps on the machine and rips one of the sensors off as the songstress continues with the Slow Dance. Barret manages to shoot the two of the six spike wheels flat, as Aerith heals the party. Riley tosses one of the ethers to Aerith as she drinks one herself, and the Griffon once more cast Thunder at the machine.

"Man, is there a quick way to end this?" Riley mutters to herself. "This battle is much more faster in the game than in real-life WHOA!" The mime yelps as the Griffon swoops down and drops it's rider off near Aerith, nearly stumbling on her. "Hey! What's the big idea!" she shouts back at the Griffon.

Then the next thing… the Griffon releases strong electrical charges and it's body turns into a powerful mass of electricity.

"Uh… Mira, did you train it to do that?" the mime asked her best friend, who shrugs in confusion and surprise.

Then the Griffon flew around, gaining speed, before it goes into a dive right to the Motor Ball. The brunette mime shouts everyone to duck down, seeing the Griffon is going kamikaze on the machine. Seeing the beast attempting to get rid of the machine in one strike, the group quickly drop flat on the floor as the Griffon and the machine connects. Explosion is heard and the highway shook, but amazingly is able to hold such shockwave and damage. Looking back up, they saw the machine completely wreck and twisted with a bit of sparks going off. Slowly, Riley walks to the debris and to her relief she finds the 350 gils intact. But to her disappointment, the Star Pendant is somewhat welded into the metal and she couldn't take it.

"Well, what do we do now?" Barret asked, as Riley packs the gils as she continues staring at the welded pendant with dismay.

"Sephiroth is alive. I…I have to settle the score." Cloud stated.

"And that'll save the Planet?"

"…Seems like it."

"Awright, I'm going!"

"I'll go too. …I have things that I want to find out." Aerith pipes up.

"About the Ancients?" the blonde Ex-SOLDIER asked.

"…Many things."

"You might need us, it'll be easy to have some experience travelers with you." Riley stated as she walks back to Mira's side.

"Same here." the songstress agrees.

"I guess this is good bye, Midgar." Tifa stated.

Once they located where the cable is, the group have a short debate on who's going first. And it is decided that Kunsel would go first, since Red does not have any oppose-sable thumbs and needed to be carried down. It is followed by Riley, then Tifa, then Aerith, then Barret and there's a short mental battle within Mira's mind before she goes next as Cloud insisted to be the last one. Riley have no problem with climbing down a rope or cables, however Mira fears of dropping dead from such extreme heights causes her to move more slowly and carefully than the others. Once the ground is a foot or two closer, she gladly let go of the cable and landed with a bit of glee.

The she looks around and notices something different… but her attention is snapped when Red announces that he'll go with them until he reaches his hometown.

"Then… Let's go!" the blonde calls

"We need a group leader for our journey. 'Course only me could be the leader." the black man stated smugly as both Riley and Mira rolls their eyes.

"You think so…?" Tifa asked

"It would have to be Cloud." Aerith added.

"I vote for that one." both Riley and Mira stated, the group looks at them as they shrugs.

"$*$&%…awright. Go Northeast to a town called Kalm. If something happens, we'll meet up there. 'Sides, we can't have 8 people strolling down the fields. It's too dangerous. Split us into 2 parties…" the black man stated.

"Make it three, the more spread out we are, the more safer it is." Mira suggested.

And they agreed to the plan, on the first group is Cloud, Aerith and Barret, the second is Kunsel, Tifa and Red, while both Mira and Riley remains together. Cloud's groups heads out first, they waited for fifteen minutes to past before Kunsel's group moves out. As they wait, they listen to a few of Mira's songs as the mime checks her pouches. Once the first fifteen minutes came, Kunsel, Tifa and Red sets off and bid the two to see them in Kalm.

Once they are out of sight….

"Okay girl, let me see the 'girls night out'." Riley stated as the songstress rolls her eyes with a smile and hands her touch phone. "Watching candid movies is a better way to spend time." her quips with a smirk.

"Riley, we have to leave in ten minutes actually."

"Eh, why early?"

"We're suppose to visit someone, remember?"

"Oh yeah… sorry bout that, puppy." the mime apologizes at the air, the remembers something and looks at the songstress. "By the way, how did you created that Griffon?"

**:::^*^:::**

Once ten minutes pass, both Mira and Riley traveled to the cliff where Zack died.

There they stop for a moment and Mira takes out a fresh flower, placing it on the ground.

"Don't worry, we'll keep our promise on watching over them." Riley said, as Mira arms her keytar. "You're going to sing for him."

"Yeah, we didn't give him a proper farewell… since we are so focus on looking after Cloud." the songstress stated and fixes a few stuffs on her keytar. "Sorry if you might not understand this, but the song is in Japanese… or Wutainese in this… world's term… something." she thinks for a moment before shrugging it off, and begins playing a song both she and Riley recognize.

Hitomi no oku ga boyake te mie nai 

Kokoro no soko no kimochi wa aru no? 

Mira sings, as Riley smiles a little and clasp her hands together and silently prays.

Sekai no subete wo te ni shi ta toshite mo 

Sore ga anata no shiawase na no? 

Why kodoku na sora wo miageru no? 

Why waratte mise te yo 

Kotoba ni suru no ga heta na 

Anata no seikaku wakaru kara 

'Everything will be fine, Zack.' Riley thought, as she prays in her mind. 'We're watching over Cloud and Aerith now, there's no need to worry anymore… although, I'm a bit sad… you and Aerith are meant to be with one another… I kinda wished that the Lifestream would given you a second chance.'

Jiyuu na hito wa bukiyou de? 

Jiyuu na hito wa fuan de? 

'Also, please help me… I want to give Sephiroth back his humanity, Mira and I know why he became mad. So don't be too angry on him… no one have given any love or truth to him. So do not worry… we'll make things right. Promise.'

Why kodoku na sora wo miageru no? 

Why waratte mise te yo 

Kotoba ni suru no ga heta na 

Anata no seikaku wakaru kara 

Shinji te mi te 

Why...?

Once the song ended, Riley finishes her prayer and they left for Kalm.

"Do you see him?" the mime asked.

"No... I think he returned to the planet."

"Oh well... at least he's in peace."

Back at the cliff, there is a green spark before it vanishes with the flower.

* * *

><p>Silver: This chapter have so many edits… I'm telling you, and still not happy with this. Sorry, I was on at artist art roll… KINGDOM HEARTS 3D! Knjsnsfhsfusrhfsjnbfligbvd! No I don't own a 3DS, that's my cousin's and I was frankly on a KH roll, lol… Even if I don't understand Japanese, maybe a little but not the rest of the conversation. NEKU! Or is it Neko…? Considering he got a cat as Dream Eater… pun on the name, anyone? XD! Anyway, they are finally out of Midgar! Yes! Onwards to victory! Erk… wrong one… meh, read and review, folks.<p>

P.S. And yes, thanks to Minerva, Mira is able to see dead people.


	16. False Conflict

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird does not own Final Fantasy 7 or the songs that are in this story, only her OCs… Otherwise, we might end up having a not-so-epic battle with the lawsuits.)

_**Altering Rhythm**_

_**False Conflict**_

Silver: Moving to Kalm and to re-supply! Enjoy the intro!

* * *

><p><strong>False Conflict<strong>

"There's a hundred and four days of summer vacation"

"And school comes along just to end it."

"So the annual problem of our generation…"

"Is finding a good way to spend it…"

"Like… Maybe…!"

"Building a rocket or fighting a mummy!"

"Or climbing up the Eiffel Tower!"

"Discovering something that doesn't exist!"

"Or giving a monkey a shower!"

"Surfing a tidal wave, creating nanobots!"

"Or locating Frankenstein's brain!"

"Finding a Dodo Bird, painting the continent!"

"Or driving Rufus Shinra insane!"

"PFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTT!" the songstress sprays out her drink when she heard that part. Both girls are taking a short break after they encounter the nasty biker monsters one more, and for some reason Riley suddenly break out into musical with the opening of their favorite Disney cartoon… with one part of it changed. "… Seriously? Rufus?"

"He's going to be a pain on the party's ass, before the encounter with Diamond WEAPON and getting himself kidnapped." Riley explains as she straighten up her sitting posture. "Besides, Hojo is a Mad Cuckadoolander scientist with the self-destruct buttons missing on all of his failed experiments. And for the Silver General… he's more of a lost guy than insane."

Mira gives her a look her before she takes another sip, packs her canteen and stands up. "Come on, we need to get to Kalm soon or else the others will get worried."

"Right… but why do I have a feeling we have forgotten something."

"Well… we did forgot blowing the laboratory up."

If their were any sound effects, the mime swear she heard a record zips when she heard that they forgot to blow up the lab. "Aw crud! The lab! How could I forgot that!" the mime yelps and face palms.

"… We still got the remote…" Mira tries to calm her best friend.

"Mira, I doubt this can do loooooonnngggg range distance control." the mime points out and takes out the remote for the bombs. "Seriously, I doubt it will work."

"Mind if I try it?"

"… meh, go kick yourself." And the brunette toss the remote to her. The songstress checks the remote out before she presses the button, looking back at Midgar. "… You're right, unless we're Phineas and Ferb who defies logic, we won't be getting rid of those information."

"Yeah… by the way, what kind of alien do you think is Jenova?" the mime asked, as they turn and heads for the blue town.

"I don't know, why ask?"

"I just remembered Ben 10." the mime quips, as Mira remembers the show. "Anyway, I'm guessing Jenova is a Osmosian, of sorts."

"Why Osmosians?" remembering the show and a few alien species she can remember.

"They absorb energy, minerals and the list goes on… oh, they can also absorb ten percent of DNA of another species."

"Just one thing, Jenova can imprint her genes into her victims and drives them nuts, Osmosians don't."

"D'oh… down the drain. How about you?"

"… Uh… the one from… the movie?"

"What movie?"

"The Thing."

"… Nah, it can suck out life but that's just it. No antagonizing and torturous nightmare plaguing in the victims' minds, and turning them into freakish beings." and the songstress shrugs at that, suddenly Riley thought of something. "Speaking of it, I have a theory that Jenova is nore of the alien-takeover cliché types…"

"Eh? Didn't the wiki says Jenova's instinct is to destroy life?"

"Not exactly… I mean, in the game, when life is destroyed, it returns to the Lifestream within the Planet and continues with the cycle. Now Sephiroth planned to wound the planet so he can absorb the Lifestream and become god, right? So what if Jenova's method is the same as Sephiroth's in the form of 'destroying', but in a small scale like infecting others and taking their life force as the virus takes over, etc?" her best friend look at her. "Come on, think of our science classes back in high school, conservation of energy?"

"I see, so you're pointing that Jenova is actually feeding on life energy… then Hojo has been indirectly feeding Jenova with Mako!"

"And that adds the list why the crazy scientist should be frozen and launch away into the far, darkness of space." the mime stated and her best friend could not help to agree. "… So… Maybe Jenova is part Osmosian?"

"… Probably."

**:::^*^:::**

Arriving to the town, Riley can't help but to hum the I'm Blue which is sung by Eiffel 65 and Mira have to suppress her giggles on hearing that.

"I'm officially blue-blind." the mime stated with a grin, as they make their way to the Inn.

"Hee… come on, let's head to the Inn and meet the others. Plus I hope Kunsel did not go interrogating Cloud… that would be bad and Tifa will be kick him out of the party." Mira noted.

"I agree, we need his help in this situation, he's a very good source of info… wow, I guess what the forum said about Kunsel is true… he's a Turk in a SOLDIER's clothing." the mime said as they sees Tifa waving at them and they wave back. "Hey!

"Hey Tifa!" the songstress calls out, as they stop beside her. "Are we late?"

"Not really, so how's the journey?" the female fighter asked.

"Meh, same thing… the heat of the sun, wild monsters, self-defense… nothing really change." the mime stated in a bored tone, making it sound like she and Mira have been doing it for years.

The bar maid gave the two a small smile and motions the two up to the room they rented, the three enters the Inn and heads up to the room where the others are. There they saw the others and… three beds. "Sorry, but this is the only room we got."

"It's fine." Riley said with a wave of her hand. "I can camp on the floor… Mira might be a bit of a diva here."

"Hey, we've been camping out since our travels and you call me a diva?" the songstress stated dryly at the mime.

"Well, you've been complaining about rocks and random monsters…"

"First, the rocks under the sleeping bag is uncomfortable, and two, it was your idea to camp in a bug-monster infested field that ONE time."

"Okay… the latter is something I'm apologizing, but the first… can't you remove the rocks as you put up your tent?" the mime gave her a look as the group watches them banter at one another. "Aaanywaaay… so, we're here." she announces.

"So let's hear your story…" Barret stated, turns at the blonde who gives him a look. "You know, the one about Sephiroth and the crisis facing the planet. Let's hear it all."

The blonde seems to hesitates before he speaks up, both Mira and Riley knew that the story he's going to tell is a weaved version between him and Zack. So for safety, they stand on Kunsel's sides, and ready to prevent him from making any remarks. "…I used to want to be like Sephiroth so I joined SOLDIER. After working with Sephiroth on several missions, we became friends."

"You call that a friend?" Barret scoffs off as Kunsel listens… the former Second knew about Zack and Sephiroth's relationship before the latter's fall into madness. He also knows that Cloud is one of Zack's friends, since he first saw him during the mission briefing in the halls… it is possible for the blonde to befriend the former general since he's with Zack back then. But he soon learns what Mira said about the blonde's mental illness when he said…

"Yeah, well… He's older than me, and he hardly ever talked about himself." Cloud explains as Tifa remains silent. "So I guess you'd call him a war buddy, We trusted each other. Until one day…"

"…One day?" Aerith asked.

"After the war it was SOLDIER's duty to put down any resistance against the Shinra. … that was 5 years ago. I was 16…" then he began telling about the mission to investigate the reactor in Nibelheim, that got Kunsel's attention because he knows about the mission. But one look from Mira, made him wisely shut up and decides to talk about it with them later.

"Sephiroth's strength is unreal." the blonde added once he finishes telling how easily Sephiroth took down a dragon. "He is far stronger in reality then any story you might have heard about him."

" So… Where do you come in?" the flower girl asked.

"Me? I was mesmerized by the way Sephiroth fought." he shrugs. The two girls look at Tifa, who seems to be quite disturbed and confuse… they both now that the rest of the story is about to get messy.

"…and then we reached Nibelheim." he then tells the other about how they reached Nibelheim and the two talk about their family… when…

"Yo! Hold up!" Barret calls out and everyone turns to look at him. "Isn't that, um…? The name of Sephiroth's mother… I remember Jenova. That's that damn headless spook livin' in the Shinra building!"

Everyone seems to roll their eyes on the black man's obvious reaction, but to Mira and Riley it seem to a bit appropriate. Considering learning that the man's mother is a freaky and dangerous alien from a space rock, can be really freaky… "That's right." the blonde stated dryly at the gun-arm man.

"Barret, would you please let us hear what Cloud has to say? You can ask questions later." she scolded him.

"Tifa, I was only…"

Ignoring the black man, she looks back at the blonde. "Okay Cloud, continue."

"It's a reunion of childhood pals!" The flower girl exclaims, remembering that both Cloud and Tifa came from Nibelheim.

" …I was really surprised with Tifa."

**:::^**_Cloud's Tale_**^:::**

" …**The town was quiet. Everybody must be staying in their housed, afraid to come out because of the monsters. No, maybe they're afraid of us…"**

"We leave for the reactor at dawn. Make sure you get to sleep early. All we need is one lookout, so you others, get some rest. Oh, that's right… You may visit your family and friends." Sephiroth said to the blonde, then he enters the Inn.

The blonde SOLDIER looks around his hometown for a while, to him nothing much change and then he enters the Inn. He gives the Innkeeper a silent greeting and heads upstairs… there he sees Sephiroth again, only looking out by the window and seems to be in a trance.

"What are you looking at?" Cloud asked.

"…This scenery…" He stated. "… I feel like I know this place…" Then he snaps back and looks away from the view and the blonde. "…We have an early start tomorrow. You should get some sleep soon."

"Yeah, let's get some sleep." agreeing to the general's suggestion.

"I've hired a guide to the Mako reactor. I've heard she's young, I hope we can rely on her…"

And so they retired into their room.

**:::^*^:::**

The next morning…

Cloud woke up a bit late and have to rush getting ready. Once he is prepared, he exit's the Inn and heads to where the general is. He didn't notice there's another person running behind him, but once he reaches the general's side. "Once the guide gets here, we're heading out." the silver man stated, not letting the blonde to ask about it. He then turns to the man, who's with them before Cloud arrived.

"Listen to me, Sephiroth. In case something happens…" the man said, as the blonde moves to greet the troopers.

"…Trust me." then a young girl arrives shortly, wearing a cowgirl outfit and a hat to match.

"I'll be all right, Dad! I have two men from SOLDIER with me." the girl said and turns to looks at the general. "I'm Tifa, nice to meet you."

Cloud is quite taken aback by this. "Tifa! You're the guide?" he gawks, surprise on having her as their guide.

"That's right. I just happen to be the number one guide in this town." she quips cheerily.

"It's too dangerous! I can't involve you in something like this!" he stated and the girl seems to huff at this.

"Then there's no problem if you protect her." the silver general stated and turns to the path. "…Let's go."

But before they even go, a young man stops them for a moment. He asked if he could take a picture of them before they go, he then asked Tifa if her could persuade him. She then looks at Cloud and he shrugs, and then he looks at Sephiroth. The general stiffly nodded and the blonde walks to the right, near the fence of the Shinra Mansion. Then the girl moves to his side and Sephiroth merely stands on one end. Once the picture is taken, they immediately head out for the reactor.

Although the walk there is easy, they did encounter a few monsters in the way but not a hassle for them. However, upon arriving at the bridge, Tifa warned them that it will get harder once they cross the bridge. Then, suddenly, the bridge begins to shake and she notices the rope is going to snap. It is too late to warn them when the bridge collapse and they fell.

Thankfully, they are not that injured but they are missing a trooper. Sephiroth decided to continue with the mission instead of looking for their missing members. So they continue with their way to the reactor and as they climb, they saw the reason why the company chose to build one in this town and a beautiful sight of nature.

**:::^*^:::**

Cloud and the groups manages to reach the reactor, with little difficulties.

"We finally made it." Tifa said, as she breathe in a bit. "We sure took the long way through." Also she seems to be excited.

"Tifa, you wait here." Cloud said as Sephiroth makes his way into the reactor.

The girl seems shock and disappointed by that. "I'm going inside too! I wanna see!" she whined.

Before Sephiroth could enter the building, the turns to look at her. "Only authorized people are allowed in. This place is full of Shinra's industrial secrets." he stated.

"But!" before she can even say it, Sephiroth instructed the trooper to watch over her and enters the building with Cloud following behind. Tifa tried to get in but is stopped by the guard. Because of that she stomps the ground out of frustration and walks to one corner. "Mm, man! Better take real good care of me then!" and then crosses her arms.

Inside, the two finds the problem, a valve is broken and the blonde quickly fixes it. Sephiroth wondered why the valve broke…

And he sees why…

He then asked Cloud about the process of Mako to Materia, which the blonde answers. Then he instructed the blonde to look at the window, Cloud followed his orders and gets a shock of his life. What he sees is quite scary and fell on his bottom when he let go.

"Wh…what is this!?" he asked out of shock.

"Normal members of SOLDIER are humans that have been showered with Mako." the general explains. "You're different from the others, but still human. But, what are they? They've been exposed to a high degree of Mako, far more than you."

"…is this some kind of monster?"

"Exactly. And it's Hojo of Shinra that produced these monsters. Mutated living organisms produced by Mako energy. That's what these monster's really are."

"Normal members of SOLDIER? You mean you're different?" then when he looks back to see the general in pain… and in denial. "H…hey, Sephiroth!"

"N…no… …Was I?" Then Sephiroth draws out his sword and kept slashing the containers out of frustration and confusion. "…Was I created this way too? Am I the same as all these monsters…"

"…Sephiroth." Cloud called with worry.

"You saw it! All of them…were humans…"

"Humans!? No way!"

"…I've always felt since I was small… That I was different from the others. Special, in some way. But…not like this…"

Then all of the sudden, one of the containers made noises and shakes… and then burst opens. And on the pod's lid, the humanoid laid, roaring in pain and lost.

"Am I... human?"

"**I didn't quite understand what Sephiroth was saying at that time. I was even more surprised by that fact that Shinra was producing monsters."**

**:::^**_Back to the present_**^:::**

"Damn, Shinra! The more I hear, the more I hate 'em!" The former AVALANCHE leader shouts in frustration and nearly hits one of the bed post, when he furiously wave his gun-arm.

"…Who would have ever thought the Mako Reactor held a secret like that." Tifa whispered with a lace of hatred in it, both Riley and Mira hardly heard her but they managed.

"That would seem to explain the increase in the number of monsters recently. I think we should listen carefully to Cloud. Don't you think so Barret?" the red feline asked and looks at the black man.

'Why are you talkin' to me!?' Barret thought, giving Red a look and then looks back at the blonde. "Keep talking."

'I'm so tempted to ask Cloud if he stole some underwear from Tifa's place…' Riley thought, as her mouth twitch and turns away for a moment to hide her silly grin. Mira sees and rolls her eyes.

"Tifa… You were waiting outside then?" Aerith asked, looking at the martial artist.

"…Yes." The bar maid replied.

"We returned to Nibelheim. Sephiroth confined himself at the inn. He didn't even try to talk to me." Cloud then added.

"Then all of a sudden he just disappeared, right?" Tifa asked.

**:::^**_Cloud's Tale_**^:::**

"**We found him inside the biggest building in Nibelheim." he stated**

"**The villagers used to call it Shinra mansion." she noted**

"**Long ago, people from Shinra used to live in that mansion…"**

After learning that the general is in the abandon mansion, Cloud heads to the said building and looks for him. It wasn't long till he stumble into the secret entrance to the basement… and there he finds Sephiroth pacing around with a book in his hand.

"… An organism that was apparently dead, was found in a 2000 year old geological stratum. Professor Gast named that organism, Jenova… X Year, X Month, X Day. Jenova confirmed to be an Ancient …X Year, X Month, X Day. Jenova Project approved. The use of Mako Reactor I approved for use…" Sephiroth narrates and stops for a moment, then looks up at the ceiling. "My mother's name is Jenova… Jenova Project… Is this just a coincidence? Professor Gast… Why didn't you tell me anything? …Why did you die?" as he looks at the ground and then returns reading.

Seeing this, Cloud didn't have a heart to disturb him. So he decided to take a rest in one of the mansion's rooms and wait.

"**Sephiroth didn't come out of the Shinra Mansion... He continued to read as if he were possessed by something, and not once, did the light in the basement go out…"**

A week pass and Cloud went back to check on the general…

But he didn't expect this…

"Ha, ha, ha…" the blonde heard him laughing, but it is not a joyful one. Sensing something is wrong, he continue his way to the reading room where the silver general is. "Who is it!?" the general demands and once Cloud arrives. "Hmph…traitor." he miffs.

"Traitor?" the blonde asked.

"You ignorant traitor." Sephiroth hiss, then looks at the wall. "I'll tell you. This was an itinerant race. They would migrate in, settle the Planet, then move on… At the end of their harsh, hard journey, they would find the Promised Land and supreme happiness."

Then he turns to look at the blonde with hatred in his eyes. "But, those who stopped their migrations built shelters and elected to lead an easier life. They took that which the Cetra and the planet had made without giving back one whit in return!" He then looks down on the book-littered table. "Those are your ancestors."

"Sephiroth…"

"Long ago, disaster struck this planet." looking up, the general paces towards the blonde. "Your ancestors escaped… They survived because they hid. The Planet was saved by sacrificing the Cetra. After that, your ancestors continued to increase." He then looks back at him. "Now all that's left of the Cetra is in these reports."

"What does that have to do with you?"

"Don't you get it?" he stops by his side but didn't face the blonde, instead he looks at the littered hall. "An Ancient named Jenova was found in the geological stratum of 2000 years ago. The Jenova Project." he place his hand on his head. "The Jenova Project wanted to produce people with the powers of the Ancients…no, the Cetra! …I am the one that was produced." as he straighten up.

Shock to hear this, Cloud turns to look at him. "Pr…produced!?"

"Yes. Professor Gast, leader of the Jenova Project and genius scientist, produced me." he stated, then he walks down the hall but stops for a moment.

"How…how did he…?"the blonde calls out and goes after the silver general, but he stops once he sees him. "Se…Sephiroth?"

"Out of my way." Sephiroth snarls. "I'm going to see my mother."

Sephiroth left with determination, leaving Cloud to digest what he heard from the general. He didn't know how many hours passed, but the noise outside of the Shinra Mansion snaps him out of his stupor. Sensing trouble and to find the general, he runs out of the mansion.

But he did not expect this at all… the entire town is burning.

"… **Wait. Nibelheim burned down?"**

**:::^**_Back to the present_**^:::**

The story once more pauses for a moment and Cloud looks at the mime, who looks more confuse then shock like the others. "Yes, my entire hometown is burned down."

Riley looks surprise now, but to Mira, she knew she is acting. They both know what's going on and the two look at one another, as Tifa sighs. "Please, let's just hear the rest-" but she is cut off by the mime.

"Sorry Tifa. But a few months back and during in our travel… me and Mira… weeellllll…." the mime said scratching the back of her head.

"We went to where your home town is." the songstress said, taking the lead. "And… it's still there and intact."

"WHAT!" the blonde Ex-SOLDIER exclaims quite loudly, causing both Mira and Riley to dart behind the former Second to avoid his incoming fury. They peek out to see Tifa is in quite a shock and Cloud is glaring at them.

"What are you pointing at?" the blonde demands.

"Are you saying that Cloud is lying about the town's downfall?" Tifa asked.

"No! Not at all, but that massacre happened 5 years ago." Riley stated quickly with her hands waving in front in defense. "Anything else can happen after that, like thieves scavenged the wreckage, isolated or…"

"Rebuild the entire town to cover up the incident." Kunsel stated, and both girls look at him.

"Rebuild the entire town?" Tifa asked.

"Yes… I did heard rumors of a town burnt down and the company made the decision to rebuild it." he explains. "… So no one would know what happen on the incident that took place…"

Silence roam around as both Tifa and Cloud digest the fact that Shinra rebuilt their home, just to hide the truth that Sephiroth went mad. For Mira and Riley, it is a good idea to tell them about the rebuilt town now, instead of getting a shock once they get there. Then Barret breaks the silence by asking the next part of the blonde's tale, and Cloud decides to continue with the story…

And ask the two girls later about the rebuilt town.

**:::^**_Cloud's Tale_**^:::**

"**I went after Sephiroth, who I saw is heading for the reactor where the Jenova room is…"**

And there he witnesses Tifa mourning for her father, who's lying dead in front of her. Also beside her is the familiar blade…

"Papa…" she cried and then she straightens up, as her anger starts to build. "Sephiroth!? Sephiroth did this to you, didn't he!?" she slumps and her body shakes. "Sephiroth… SOLDIER… Mako Reactors… Shinra…" with fury, she shouts at the sky. "Everything! I hate them all!

She then takes the blade and runs into the reactor, with the blonde tailing behind.

By the time he reaches the room where Tifa and Sephiroth is…

"How could you do that to papa and all the townspeople?" he heard and sees the general slashed her with his blade. She falls down to the bottom of the stairs and then Sephiroth then went inside the room where his said mother is. He quickly checks on Tifa who is seriously wounded.

"…You promised… You promised that you'd come…when I was in trouble…" she said to him before she faints. Cloud then carries Tifa and places her in a safe place. He then goes inside the room where the insane general is.

"Mother, let's take this planet back together." Sephiroth said to a metal manikin, ignoring the blonde who entered. "I've thought of a great idea. Let's go to the Promised Land."

"Sephiroth… My family! My hometown! How could you do this to them!?" Cloud shouts as he takes out his blade from his back.

The general merely laughs at the blonde's outburst. "Ha, ha, ha… They've come again, mother. With her superior power, knowledge, and magic, Mother was destined to become the ruler of the Planet." he then looks back at the manikin. "But they… Those worthless creatures are stealing the Planet from Mother. But now I'm here with you so don't worry."

He then tears the upper half of the manikin, snapping wires and intricate machinery. And there both finally sees what's behind the manikin… A fragile, alien woman, gray skin and preserved with one of her eyes glowing pink.

This is Jenova…

"What about MY sadness!?" Cloud shouts, as he takes his stance and ignoring what he saw. "My family…friends… The sadness of having my hometown taken away from me!? It's the same as your sadness!"

"Ha, ha, ha…my sadness?" the general asked, he then turns around with arms wide open and his Masamune on one hand. "What do I have to be sad about? I am the chosen one. I have been chosen to be the leader of this Planet. I have orders to take this planet back from you stupid people for the Cetra. What am I supposed to be sad about?"

"Sephiroth…" Cloud said with disappointment and looks away. "I trusted you…" Then he looks back with anger. "No, you're not the Sephiroth I used to know!"

Then…

**:::^**_Back to the present_**^:::**

"…and that's the end of my story." the blonde SOLDIER concluded his tale.

"Wait a damn minute! Ain't there more?" Barret asked, he can tell that something is missing. Both Mira and Riley can't help to agree silently on that one as they kept Kunsel from asking.

"…I don't remember."

"What happened to Sephiroth?" Aerith asked.

"In terms of skill, I couldn't have killed him."

"Official records state Sephiroth is dead. I read it in the newspaper." the bar maid said.

"Shinra, Inc. owns the paper, not everything are written there. So you can't rely on that information." Kunsel stated.

"…I want to know the truth. I wanted to know what happened then. I challenged Sephiroth and lived why didn't he kill me?" Cloud asked.

"…I'm alive, too." Tifa noted.

"Seem like a lot of this doesn't make sense. What about Jenova? It was in the Shinra building, right?" the flower girl asked.

"Shinra shipped it from Nibelheim to Midgar." the blonde replied.

"Then I witness the damn freaky thing come to life and escape from it's confinements." Riley stated sourly, crossing her arms. 'Need… therapy…' she thought.

"It what?" Barret asked, baffled on what the mime said.

'Oh yeah, Barret wasn't there when Riley explained what happened in the lab.' Mira thought, as the mime retold her story of witnessing Jenova's revival and the short skirmish she had with Sephiroth.

"But it go no head!" the black man points out, after hearing Riley's encounter, he's still confuse.

"It got eyes on the body, dude." the mime points back.

"Damn! Don't none of this make sense! I'm going, going, going, gone! And I'm leavin' the thinkin' to you!" the former AVALANCHE leader then goes to the steps. "Yo, Cloud! Let's get a move on!"

"Oi! Before we go, we need to re-supply!" Mira reminded and points at the dwindling items they got. Seeing this, the group decided to stay for a moment and re-supply before they go after Sephiroth.

**:::^*^:::**

She, Riley and Kunsel go to a store to buy some potions and ethers, while the others picks some tents, basic supplies and new equipments in other stores. Both Mira and Riley saw this part coming and they tried to prepare mentally for quite a long journey, which the songstress is failing since she is dreading the trek. Although they have a camping experience back in high school, this is entirely different since there are monsters, the limit of supplies and the fact that the world seems to follow real world time.

About the limit, back in the deserts of Midgar, both girls dropped some rocks and sand into the pouches to see how many it can pack. Once they filled it to the brim and weight it, they guessed that the smaller pouch is equivalent to a purse, the medium is to a backpack and the largest is to a suitcase. Still, they don't get why the pouches can pack so many, while some people they notice back in Midgar do carry bags from their travels.

It really puzzles them.

Back to the present…

"So… how's Cloud's story?" Mira asked, as she place back a bottle on the shelf after taking a good look on it.

"There's something off in it and some holes." Kunsel stated truthfully.

"Really?" she asked.

"Agree… From the files, you took, it was Zack who confronted the former general before Cloud did." the mime quips as she packs the paid items.

"That and some parts don't match in the files you got, Mira." the Ex-Second said.

"Yeah, now the main problem is… how can we straighten out his memories without interruption." the songstress stated, as they walk out of the store and heads back to the Inn where they will all meet.

"What do you mean?" he asked, the two girls then spots at a certain female martial artist by the entrance and look back at him.

"Mother-hen." they simply stated together and once more looks back at Tifa. Kunsel seems clueless on that one but he is quick to get the idea and he look at Tifa.

"I think I get what you guys mean." as they head back to the Inn

"So…" Riley said, as they are about a good distance from him and the Inn. "What do you think?"

"Well… there is a part there relating to the Modeoheim incident." the songstress replied.

"Ah, yeah… Cloud and Zack's first meeting." then the mime thinks again. "Also I think he omitted the part where both Zack and Sephiroth met Genesis in there, and the fact that he started Sephiroth's fall to insanity."

"Hmmm…"

"Got any idea to 'lessen-the-trauma'?"

"No… but we do need to get Tifa out of the way to apply therapy sessions."

"Mira! Riley!" the two turns to see Aerith and Red walking to them with a bunch of canteens, foods and disposable sporks. "You got what we need?" she asked as she stops beside them and divides the supply with them.

"Yup, two new materias, potions, ethers and a few items to get rid of negative status effects." as the mime gives Aerith a Heal materia and divides the item between them. "By the way… Do you see any candy store around?"

**:::^*^:::**

Rufus is not too please with what happened…

Not on the fact that a rowdy group made quite a mess in his main company.

Not the fact that the Ancient escaped.

Not even the fact that they escaped.

It's what they did to the archives… some of the files are taken and some of it are destroyed by two girls. He continues to watch the security video of them, in disguise, entering the archives and posing as one of the workers. They pack some files, then they pick some of the files and burn it. The most annoying is this one girl, who convinced a SOLDIER to joined their side, blew up almost all of the vital information in the 45th floor.

'You can't fool me… ' he thought, he can tell that their target is the files they took and the burn files are just a mere distraction.

"Sir…" Rufus snap back to reality and looks away from the screen to see Tseng with an arm full of files.

"Are those the files of the entire group?" as the Turk leader place the files on the new president's table.

"Yes sir, but…" the president picks one of the files. "I couldn't find any files on the two girls, who destroyed some of our important files."

It made Rufus pause for a moment and looks at Tseng. "What do you mean…?" he demands

"There are no file relating to this Riley and Mira, sir."

"So are you telling me that they just suddenly pop out of nowhere, and then wreck my company?"

"No sir." Tseng said. "My guess is that they also destroyed their own files sir, but we did learn one thing from them."

"And that would be?"

"From what I heard from Reno, the company destroyed the girl's hometown."

"And how is that vital?"

"Sir, there are only two villages the company have "forcefully retired"… Banora and North Corel."

"I see…"

"And judging by the files they took and destroyed, most of them are related to Banora."

"So they stole the files relating to Banora and burnt the others for distraction…" Rufus stated and leans forward on the table, looking at the other files. A moment of silence pass and then he looks back at Tseng. "Keep an eye on those two. Right now, there are still a few files missing on the other members."

"Yes sir, a couple of them came from the science department. We cannot access these information without clearance or Hojo's password." Tseng said. "He is currently busy with a few experiments, after recovering from the attack."

"I see, do tell that man that I need access on those files." once the Turk saluted and left, he made a note to fix some of the surveillance cameras in the building…

To the girls luck, not much is recorded in the video.

**:::^*^:::**

The gang waits for Riley, who went out to buy herself some snacks, and Kunsel, who just remembered to buy another important item. They wait by the town's entrance near the Inn and is ready to leave once the two comes back. Apparently, Cloud heard from a resident that he saw a man in a black cloak heading south. He doesn't know why he's heading south since the only thing out there is the Chocobo farm, still it doesn't stop the blonde on leaving immediately and chase after Sephiroth.

Which made Mira mentally remind herself that she and Riley have to get a leash for him.

"Hey Mira." Tifa said, who's standing beside Cloud, the songstress snaps out from mentally making notes and looks at the bar maid. "Thank you."

"Uh?" the ravenette utters.

"For telling us about what happen to our home town." she replied.

"Oh, it's nothing." the songstress stated. "Besides, it's better to be prepared than to be shocked on seeing it on spot."

"I guess you're right." she silently agrees and looks downcast, which the songstress notices. 'If only…' the bar maid thought.

'Better get the grooves on before we get to the part where Sephiroth controls Cloud for the Black Materia.' Mira thought, as she shifts her sight on Cloud.

"Mira! Look high!" hearing her best friend, she turns to see an incoming object.

Although she fumbles, she manages to prevent it on hitting the floor. She gives the mime a glare for a moment and looks at the item in her hand, which surprises her a bit. "Oh Mr. Krabs…" Mira whispers and looks at the said PHS. 'This is my dad's first cellphone. The friggin exact model!' she thought.

Bulky, not so compact and have a long rubbery antenna, it looks quite the same model her father have back in the 90's in their home world.

"So…?" she looks up and notices Riley is grinning like silly as Kunsel gives the other phones to Cloud and Barret.

"Kinda like my dad's…" the songstress whispered as the mime holds in her laughter.

They are about to head out when Cloud surprises them with some changes in the group. This time, four members in a group so… Cloud, Tifa, Mira and Red XIII in the first group and the second is Kunsel, Barret, Riley and Aerith. Once he explains that a slight group change is essential, both girls bid each other good luck and hopes they can hide the fact that they are different for this journey.

**:::^*^:::**

Hojo is not too happy to lose his specimen… again.

But he sees something that made the mad man smile…

In one video, shows a girl with his prized specimen.

And in the other… is a girl at created a creature out of a lightings.

'Interesting…' he thought, as the video played, the girl with his prized specimen… recognizes each other. 'Truly interesting.' as in the other, a griffon came out of her lighting-filled hands.

* * *

><p>Silver: About the Ben 10 thing… this conversation actually happened. Me and some old high school classmates were watching it, then we (I forgot who started) suddenly began asking about what kind of alien races that were not classified like Jenova. Thus launched a theory that Jenova is feeding on life by infecting it, destroying the cycle in the process and leads to the planet's destruction… Okay, this is not my best chapter. I gave both Cloud and Tifa a heads up about their home town, so by that they are mentally prepared once they return there. And yes, I based the PHS on the Motorola's old phones… and my dad owns one way back. but it's the flip phone. Anyway, it seems Shinra learned that the girls came from Banora but deducts wrongly... and Hojo finds himself two new interest to experiment on... if he gets them that is. Anyway, read and review!<p> 


	17. Do the Mambo de Chocobo!

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird does not own Final Fantasy 7 or the songs that are in this story, only her OCs… Otherwise, we might end up having a not-so-epic battle with the lawsuits.)

_**Altering Rhythm**_

_**Do the Mambo de Chocobo!**_

Silver: As the title says, let's dance! I'm a little happy on this chapter… just a little. Anyway, Resident Evil movie! Yeah, can't wait for both film and CGI-film to come out soon in a few months! (Mostly the CGI one.) Back to the point, enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Do the Mambo de Chocobo!<strong>

Camping out is quite normal…

But with the monsters prowling around at night and chasing after a mad man, is an entirely different experience for two girls from Earth.

"Tifa! Watch your back!" Mira shouts, the bar maid turns to see the Prowler is about to steal her and punches him on the face. Cloud cast thunder on his own set of Prowlers and Mira cures Red XIII.

But there is one thing causes the songstress to think something is off…

'Where are the Kalm Fangs?' she thought as she downs an ether once she starts feeling woozy. Usually, the dogs are with them but right now, not a single wild dog is seen. '… This is more gross than the antidote.' she gives the said bottle a look before ducking down as a Prowler lunges at her.

**:::^*^:::**

"Bad dog! Bad dog!" Riley shouts and beats down another Kalm Fang with her tonfas and Barret shoots the rest down.

Once they got rid of the Fangs, the group takes a break and Kunsel distribute each of the group a potion to recover some health. As they rest, Riley is digging in her bag to get her PHS and to call Mira…

"I'm surprise you're with them, Aerith." former Second said as he sits not far from her.

"Yeah… I'm glad that you are also safe." she replied, then she looks at him again. "Um, who are you again?"

Riley have to hold her laugh and imagines Kunsel falling off his seat, anime style. Of course, since he is wearing a helmet, it is obvious for the flower girl on not recognizing him at all. The former Second made a face and then introduces himself once more. That's when she remembers the said man who once visited her in the church, and refuses his offer of fixing the wheels of her flower wagons. She is glad to meet him again without the helmet on, they then exchange stories of about their life.

When…

"So have you…?"

"I have what…?" the flower girl asked as the Ex-SOLDIER utters never mind and looks away.

'Crap, I forgot, Aerith somehow sensed Zack's death and Kunsel just only knows now by our story! Shit! Better make up a convincing story on not telling Aerith about our 'meeting', and she better not know about Cloud's condition too.' she thought and looks away for a moment, then she got her PHS out of her bag and calls on the songstress.

"Hello?"

"Hey, how's it going over there? At the Chocobo Farm?" the mime asked.

"Not yet." the songstress deadpans in reply. "Riley, this is the 4th time…"

"I'm not worried! DoIlooklikeI'mspazzing?" the mime asked way too fast, with one of her eye twitching and the other looks at her strangely.

"Riley… did you ate candy again?"

"Nope!"

"… That's it I'm taking your snacks once we meet."

"I did not!" the mime protests and walks a little off the group for a while. Making sure it is far from being heard by the Ex-SOLDIER... "Anyway, we got a problem…" she hissed.

"What?"

"Remember when you told me that you told Kunsel that we met Zack twice? Well, I just remembered… that he visited Aerith once in Crisis Core to fix her wagons." she then looks back slightly to see if they are listening, to her relief they continue on recovering.

"Oh… Ginger snaps." Then there is a mid pause. "Make-up another story?"

"Yeah, just keep Chocobo and Mother-hen from finding out… Okies, see you."

"If you called again and I hear you on hype, I'm taking your snacks away."

"Oh, come on! I only ate one pack!" she shouts in defense, only to hear the beeping sound and then she glares at the phone. "Aye, be thankful that you are still my best friend, girl."

**:::^*^:::**

The sun sets and they have not reach the said farm, so the two group decides to camp out and check on how far they are. By guessing and the faint image, Cloud's group will be first to arrive at the Chocobo Farm.

Both girls have experiences on camping like pitching up a tent, however, the tents are quite different from the ones they have at home. So they end up winging it and only one got it right.

"Oh come on." the songstress stated sourly as one of the stakes just pops off the ground and the foundation collapse. "Yeesh… do I have to move to get this right?"

"Do you need help?" she turns around to see Cloud and Tifa are finished with theirs, as Red went off to find materials for the fire.

"… Yeah." she admitted, as the two helps her with the tent. "Usually I hold the tent up as Riley does this."

"Oh, so this is the first time you pitch this on your own?" Tifa asked.

"Yes, my first time to do it solo."

"You really are- Cloud, the hammer is other there." the bar maid points out and the blonde spots the said hammer just behind him. As he hammers the stakes more firmly in the ground. "You and Riley are really dependent on one another."

"Uh, we're not really dependent, more on supportive actually." the songstress stated, as she and Tifa holds up the tent. As they talk about friends and nature around them, Cloud finishes the task and Red came back with some woods balancing on his back. Once they light up the fire, the bar maid distributes the can of beans and jerky as the others have water in their own canteens. They talk around the fire and laugh a bit, but Mira notices the uneasiness on Cloud's face. She guess that he really want to settle the score between him and Sephiroth. Once they have their fill, Cloud takes on the role as the watcher tonight, but Mira insisted on taking it first because she have more experience. And after much debate, the group decided to let Mira take the first half of the watch, and then she'll wake him up for the other half. Although displeased, he agrees and they enter their tents with the songstress sitting on the rock.

Looking at the tent and back on her cellphone, she made sure an hour pass or she hears some snores from the tents. The ravenette then silently moves to their tents and checks if they are sleeping. And surely enough, she does hear some light snores and moves away.

After seeing she's a good distance away but near enough to shout a warning, she takes out her cellphone and calls.

Then she yells out when something appears in front of her…

**:::^*^:::**

After successfully setting up her tent, Riley goes around and checks the others. Kunsel seems to finish his and he is now helping Barret, who's in a lock mess with his own tent. Aerith, on the other hand, is putting on the foundation of the tent but have no idea on how to make it stand up. By that, Riley stroll towards the flower girl and takes the ropes.

"Need help?" the mime asked.

"Oh, sorry I don't-" but the brunette just waves it off.

"It's okay, I kinda half-expected that you don't go out into the wilderness that much." as she loop the ropes into the right places. Then she looks at Aerith who's looking at the sky as she pulls the rope. "It's the first time seeing the blue sky too, huh?"

"Uh? Oh… yes, this is my first time outside Midgar."

"Well, don't go dazing away on the sky when we're fighting monsters." the mime jokes as she take the stakes and tied the rope. Once she finishes putting up her tent, she looks back and still finds Barret in a knot. The scene is both hilarious and pitiful to the three, which is why she convince Aerith to take Barret and to get some fire woods. Once the two heads out, she and Kunsel takes over pitching up Barret's tent…

And she knew he's going ask her about Aerith.

"Did you tell her about Zack?" he asked.

"Eh? She knows him?"

The former Second gives her a look before he tells her that Aerith is Zack's girlfriend. "Wait… she's Zack's girlfriend?" she asked back, pretending not to know about the two's relationship.

"You don't- Hmmm… I guess he did not tell you about his girlfriend after he died, did he?"

"Kunsel, when we both arrived, he can barely get air in his lungs." she deadpans, as she holds the tent and he hammers. "So… Zack is the one Aerith's talking about back in the park, man what a small world." she utters, she then notices his look at her. "She only mentioned that her boyfriend is a 1st Class SOLDIER."

"I see." he continues hammering the stakes, he then test the tent if it's stable and the rope is tightly tied on the stakes. "You're going to tell her?" he asked.

The mime is silent for a moment and looks at the direction where the Midgar Wasteland is. She then stands and dust her skirt and leggings. "I think she already knows." she answers.

"Are you sure?" the former Second asked.

"… Yeah, she does and she does a good job on hiding the longing for him." the mime said and then looks at the grasslands.

"… I guess, you're right… Five years can make one think their love ones are gone from the face of this planet." and he stands beside her looking out the grassland. Then he placed his hand on her shoulder and she looks back at him, seeing he's not happy. "By the way, why the heck did you took the materias Zack used to own?" he asked.

'Whoops! I knew this is going to happen, Mira! I so blame you for this!' she thought as she laughs awkwardly and sweats a bit. "Yeah, well…" she then explains that they need something to beat down the monsters and troopers easily. She noted that he should be thankful that none of them have summon a Bahamut FURY out yet, he twitch on that one.

Once Barret and Aerith came back with the woods, they set up the fire and have their dinner. After having a full stomach, Kunsel ask on who's going to watch the camp for tonight and Riley volunteers for the first watch. Once they agree on Kunsel on the second watch, the three enters their tents and Riley sat near the fire. On hearing the snores, she moves away, taking out the PHS from her pouch and looks back at the tents once more before making a call.

She then dials Mira's PHS number and waited for her to answer.

"Just take a long walk and when you see the light, don't be afraid and go in it." The songstress stated as she didn't notice that she answers the call.

"Mira?"

"Oh, hey, sorry about that. A stray soul was wandering around, I had to point the poor thing to the right direction… I'm still not use to this and that guy just scared the wits out of me."

"That is so weird… I thought most people in the game die then returns back into the Planet."

"Well… I guess there are things that we don't know or did not show in the game. I mean, remember the Gi Tribe in Cosmo Canyon?"

"We have to take notes then… And I can't believe you actually have a strong sixth sense, you can see dead people who are still stuck in the plane of the living… Wouldn't that make you a Cetra or sorts…?"

"I was born with it, so suck it up. Also if I am a Cetra, I should be hearing the Planet's voice by now."

"You don't hear it?"

"I see dead people, but I cannot hear the Planet." The songstress retorted, as her best friend goes on a rant on how useful her sixth sense is. She even list of the stuffs they can do with it back in their home world like ghost hunting, psychic reading and the list goes on. And the songstress can't help but to blame the goddess on releasing her sixth sense. "Riley, back to the point what happened there?"

"Don't worry, I got it cover." she then looks back at the camp and then continues where she left off. "But we have to make sure they don't ask and stay away on any Fair-related topics."

"Got it… Okay, now once we cross the Myrtril Mine, we need to get into the woods and recruit Yuffie."

"Oh yeah, double the trouble, double the fun." she remarks with a smile.

"I forgot that I still got issue with your immaturity."

"I'll just parrot this: Suck it up. Besides, you're not the only- hold on…" she covers her PHS and looks carefully. At first she thinks it's a stone, then it moves and jump over the fire. Riley have to duck down for a while as the thing looks around and it carefully creeps into one of the tents. "I'll call you back, girl. I got an intruder to catch."

With that, she ends the call, packs up her PHS, and banish her Tonfas. She then charge back to the camp.

**:::^*^:::**

She watches over them…

Smiling that her and frowning at the other.

'_Why..?'_

But she can only watch for now and waits for the next meeting.

**:::^*^:::**

The next day…

Cloud's group is the first one to reach the Chocobo farm. But before arriving there, there are times the songstress encounters a few stray souls of travelers who died in their travels. She tries ignoring them but ended up whispering directions and shooing them away, before the others notices. The songstress would then try to close her sixth sense by remembering the therapy she had back…

"_Don't close your eyes… Don't close your mind…"_

Mira would looks around and tries to find the source, but sees nothing. It still weirded out on what the goddess said that she is different. 'Not a Cetra… and not a summon… Then why can I…?' as she remembers her childhood, they arrive in the farm.

As the blonde enters the farm to ask anything about a man in a black cloak, the group walks around and stops by the fence of the chocobos. The songstress looks at the said giant yellow bird, about as tall as the ostriches in her home but more muscular and feathery. The yellow birds notices the group, but they walked towards the ravenette and warks for her attention. Remembering about the Choco/Mog summon as one of the birds is warking at her.

Also she secretly puts her cellphone on her breast pocket, to record it. 'So Riley won't complain on missing out.' she thought.

"Okay, here goes… Wark!" she calls out, hoping she sounds like a chocobo and both Tifa and Red turns to look at her strangely. As the songstress looks away out of embarrassment, the chocobos seems to get the message and moves to their position. Tifa, Red, even Cloud who came back with the Chocobo Lure, witness the chocobos perform a whimsical performance. It made Tifa and Mira awed on their cute dance, as Red and Cloud could only smile at this. Then she notices something odd forming in the middle of the pen. After the dance, one of the chocobos picks it up and heads to where the songstress is standing. It then drops it in her hand and then rubs it's beak on her forehead, she thank the bird with a good pat and it returns back to it's companions.

"What is it, Mira?" Cloud asked, as the ravenette looks at the item with a smile and then she toss it to him.

"It's a summon materia, and I think that suits you somehow." the songstress quips, the blonde takes a good look of the materia before he gives her an annoyed look.

"Thanks, but no thanks. You keep it." as he toss back the materia to her.

"Aw Cloud, don't be so glum." she then points at the chocobos, which are now gathered at one side of the pen on where he is standing. "They think you're family."

The bar maid have to cover her giggles while Red quirks his mouth a bit, as the blonde is scowling. 'First, she downgraded my masculinity, now she compares me to these birds?!' he thought as the chocobos warks at him and in turn, he glares at them. But they did not notice it and nuzzles on the blonde. Then he yelps when one of the birds yanks him by his shoulder guard, causing him to topple over the fence and fell face first on the grassy ground.

That cause both girls to laugh as the red feline flicks his tail in amusement. The two howled in laughter again and the feline just shakes his head out of pity… Apparently one of the chocobos decided to sit on him and groom his hair.

"Get this thing off me!" Cloud shout out of annoyance as he tries to crawl out of the chocobo. But his shout merely gave the girls more laughs as the feline just watch with amusement.

"Yo! What's going… PFFFFFFF!" the four turns to see Riley and Barret is laughing so hard, they literally rolling down on the ground. Aerith uses her hands to cover her face and turns away, but the slight shaking of her shoulder indicated that she is laughing. Kunsel made funny mouth shapes as he tries not to laugh and goes to helps the blonde, he mentally wishes that he have his helmet cover some part of his face.

But Mira stops when she saw someone… and her eyes widens. 'Wait… is that Yuffie?!' she thought, as the said ninja girl also rolls on the ground laughing at the blonde's situation.

Once the blonde is up and away from the chocobos, he gives the birds one more disdain look before reuniting with the others. He immediately notices a new member in the group, a young girl wielding a big shiruken who's dusting her clothes. When he ask who is she, the girl just declares herself as the greatest warrior in Wutai and joins them in interest of taking down Shinra. He then looks at the others, who then directs him to the mime.

"What? Having a more people to help is better then nothing." the mime replies, hiding the fact that the ninja girl actually tried stealing her group's materias last night.

"She's right, y'know!" Yuffie stated quite loud as she twirls her shiruken up and down.

Sighing at this, he decided to push the issue away for a while and faces the group. "Alright, we be get going, the farmer here said that he spotted a man heading to the Mythril Mine across the marsh." he said.

"Uh Cloud, have you heard of the Midgar Zolom?" Mira asked him, as she secretly stops recording and the group looks at him. It seems by their expression, they have heard of the giant snake. He, however, looks skeptical and seems to ignore it. 'Aye, don't tell me he didn't heard of it before…'

"I know, but we need to go so Sephiroth doesn't get too far ahead."

"So we're going to catch Chocobos? I mean, they are very fast and can outrun the-" but he cuts her off.

"It will take too much time, Mira. We need to get ahead and we don't have time to catch a chocobo." the blonde stated firmly as he pockets the purple materia.

Both Mira and Riley stared at the blonde with disbelief and they look at one another.

'Not good!' they thought as they remember their first mistake when they played FF7 for the first time.

**:::^*^:::**

The helicopter flies over the Mythril Mines and is headed for Junon. Inside, Rufus studies the files about the AVALANCHE.

So far, the group is not the original one.

Cloud Strife, the leader of the group, is not a former SOLDIER but a former infantryman. He was at the Nibelheim Incident and was one of Hojo's experiments, which is the reason why he got abilities and strength of a SOLDIER. The reason he got out is a SOLDIER 1st, Zack Fair, got him out after he broke out of his own prison. However, the SOLDIER is declared dead and Cloud declared himself as a SOLDIER 1st Class. 'Probably the experiment swipe out his memories…' he thought.

Tifa Lockhart also came form Nibelheim but is able to get out of town… nothing special.

Kunsel, a former SOLDIER 2nd class who quit and joined the group, happens to be one of Zack's friend. 'Probably trying to find out where Strife came from…'

Barret Wallace, the said leader of the AVALANCHE, his hometown was destroyed by the company during his father's reign.

Aerith Gainborough, the last living Cetra and is what his father chasing after to get the Promised Land. She's probably special but not that important on his current goal.

The last one is Red XIII, another specimen but a different one from Strife… again nothing special.

Closing the file and taking another from the file, he remembers the two girls, Mira and Riley, wrecking all of their information as they stole the files about Banora. The village is actually home of two 1st Class SOLDIERs, Genesis Rhapsodos and Angeal Hewley, who were created in a program, Jenova Project: Project G. It comes to no surprise that the village was created to observed the two former SOLDIERs grow, and the two girls survived the destruction of their hometown.

An announcement snaps him out of this thoughts and place his files aside. Right now, his main focus is on the issue of the silver general's return. The group is not much of a concern for now.

However, if the AVALANCHE interferes… he will not hesitate on giving the command to rid of them all.

**:::^*^:::**

"Cloudy, can we discuss it."

"I'm telling you, we need to catch up with him. And will you stop calling me that." as he looks annoyingly at the mime.

"If I had six hours to reach my destination, I'd spend the first hour preparing for the worst."

"But it not in this situation."

"It's also implied in this situation."

"Riley, how long will you bug me about this?" as the mime face palms as her mind screams profanity which is obviously directed to the blonde's attitude. Right now, they are making their way to the marsh and both girls are trying to change the blonde's mind on rushing thru it.

'Dang it, Cloud! Although we're not controlling you with the game controller, we're not going to make the same mistake me and Mira did in our first play!' Riley thought hotly, as Mira goes to Cloud's side and she tries to convince him about the chocobos.

"Cloud, charging in is not a very reasonable decision." the songstress points out, obviously not wanting to be snake foods. "I mean, think, there are giant snakes roaming around and they are natural swimmers. How can we outrun that?"

"Simple, we'll run thru the swamp before they can sense us."

"… You're really ignoring some experienced travelers' advise… are you?"

"No, the fact that Chocobos takes too much time."

"And the fact that one of them just mother-hen you."

"I think that's the main reason." the Riley pipes in. "He's still sour being sat on."

The blonde glares at her but continue on their way to the swamp. "We're crossing the marsh on foot and that's final." he stated bluntly.

Mira face palms and shakes her head. 'We're doom…' she thought and looks at Riley… whose face is puff, red and is glaring daggers at the blonde's back. "Uh Riley…?"

Then the mime just marches briskly and stops right in front of the blonde First Class. At first, he stares at her for a second and is about to order her to move out of his way, when… "That's it! Riley Alex Bautista is out! PEACE!" she yells at him, then she bumps on him and stalks away from the group.

And Cloud just stands there, stun by the brunette's declaration as she stomps out into the grassland and away from them. The ninja girl goes after her as the songstress whispered something to the former Second before heading out to go after her best friend.

As the three girls head out.

"Cloud, you're really insensitive at times." Aerith scolds him as she shakes her head.

**:::^*^:::**

Both Mira and Yuffie goes after the mime who is still fuming as she marches into the grassland. "Riley! Wait up!" the songstress calls out.

Thankfully, the brunette stops for a while. And looks at the two, she can understand Mira following her but Yuffie…

"You're quitting?" the ninja girl asked, looking incredulous on her. Obviously, she did not join her just to be separated from her targets. The songstress refrains on rolling her eyes on the obvious reason why the ninja tags along.

"Uh? No!" the mime said and wave her hands. "I said I'm out but not quitting. Besides, I'm going to show Cloud the difference of hurrying after time and preparing for the worst." and she takes out the purple materia from her pocket with a grin.

"Ha! I knew it! I like you now!" Yuffie shouts and glomps on the mime, nearly losing her balance by the sudden weight. She then told the ninja to find any Chocobo lurking around, nodding at this and left the two on their own. Once securing she is far out…

"By the way, how did you get Yuffie early?" Mira asked.

"Glitch in the game?" the mime jokes, hinting the glitch where the party can skip the scene of the murdered Midgar Zolom, staked on the tree. "Well, considering we're in it, I think some part of the script is thrown out of the window."

"Aye… Still, she is useful."

"Yep… But I'm puzzled on something."

"On what?"

"On why the heck you never told me about your sixth sense?" she then looks at her best friend.

"There is a reason why I never mention my ESP." there is a paused and the brunette looks at her. They stare one another for a while and then she sighs. "My parents thinks it's not normal."

"Duh, it's suppose to be that way!"

"They want me to have a normal life." the mime looks at her. "That along with I've seen a lot of scary things, which caused me to get therapy."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"That explains why…" the mime said offly, now knowing why her best friend did not bother telling her about her psychic abilities. Still it made her a little angry for not telling her a long time ago, they are best friends after all. Then again, having something not normal in Earth is a practical label of a freak and an outcast. Sighing, she looks back at her best friend before they snap their attention to Yuffie, who's yelling at them and caused the wild Chocobos to run away from her. "Really subtle, Yuffie!" she shouts back.

"OH come on!" the ninja girl shouts and chases after the yellow birds.

"Anyway, I too wonder on something." the songstress said as they jogs after the ninja, she then looks at Riley. "You can mimic others' skills and create astral projection of some equipments, how do you do that? Are you psychic too?"

"I REALLY don't know." the mime said with a shrug. "It just happen to me."

"So you're telling me that your mime ability is a latent one?"

"Probably, I was trying and testing mimicking other moves like the ones in anime and other games. But nothing happens." As the ninja yelps and runs away from some Fangs. "I think we'll discuss this issue later, right now, we need to catch some chocobos and catch up with the others." she then cast Matra Magic to the bloody hounds.

**:::^*^:::**

For a moment, Cloud and the gang stops for a moment, fixes their equipment and readies themselves to cross the marsh. The others looks at the horizon, hoping the girls would come back or hoping they are not caught by Shinra… Even the blonde couldn't help but to look back into the grassland, as if he is worrying on the two and their new friend. Then he shakes the thought off. 'They have decided, there is no point of dilly and dallying around. I have to find Sephiroth and fast.' he thought.

With that, he zips his pack and motions the others to get going…

Aerith also looks back and is worried for the two. She can't help to get along with them despite she couldn't figure them out and the Planet's warning. They are so contrasting but they get along despite their difference, perhaps they don't know their difference…?

She then picks up her staff and follows the others into the marsh.

Unknown to them, slit eyes spots a potential meal.

**:::^*^:::**

Catching a chocobo is more easier said than done, especially when the girls forgot about the greens. For the two, it's like trying to catch it without any bait on the hook at all. Mostly, Riley and Yuffie does all the chasing while Mira uses the Chocobo Lure to attract the fowls. And their attempt on catching one is not that effective… especially when Riley jumps on one, the Chocobo did a rodeo to get her off.

In the end, they are exhausted, not only on attempting to catch a Chocobo, also from fighting some stray monsters.

"Aye… Mira, please play the Chocobo song?" as the mime collapses from chasing after the fowl and fighting and laid on her back. 'At least, my Dark Fire level up, that's a bonus… Yet, I'm surprise it did level up, I guess Dark Fire is a natural materia I got from the pin cushion.'

"Chocobo song?" the ninja girl asked, she too is tired and sat down not too far from her.

"… What type?" the songstress asked as she sits down for a moment and checks her Restore and Lightning materia. 'It level up… good.' she thought.

"The Mambo." the mime answers

"Okay." the songstress adjust her instrument and plays the Mambo de Chocobo from the OST: FF: Dissidia, without the male voice that shouts 'Uh!'. As she plays, Riley relaxes a bit and Yuffie became interested on the song since it is quite new to her.

Then… they hears a warking sound which made Mira stop for a moment. See looks around and sees no chocobo. 'Must be in the keytar.' she thought, as she looks at her instrument and continues playing the song.

Then suddenly…

"ACK!"

"Hay Kabayo!" they yelp as they get out of the way, then the next thing they knew…

"What the heck is this? Disney?!" the mime shouts as she spits it out.

**:::^*^:::**

Crossing the swamp is the least experience the group would want to experience, especially when leeches would attempt to cling on their skin and suck their blood out. As they cross the marsh, Aerith or Kunsel would take a split-second look back before trudging on.

However, when the flower girl look back… it wasn't a friend.

"Uh, everyone…" she calls out and both Red and Kunsel looks back to see… a submerged snake head before it dives into the swamp. It didn't give the three to think of what they saw, but it is enough to set off the alarms in their head.

"RUN!" The Ex-Second shouts causing the others to look back, and on cue the Midgar Zolom rises out just behind them. He quickly lift Aerith up and sprints forward with Red, as the giant snake hisses at it's target. But suddenly the tail appears not far from them and slaps the murky waters, blocking them from escaping.

Stopping and looking back at the snake, it lunges at them. "Scatter!" Cloud shouts and jumps away as the others scrambles away from the Zolom's path. As the snake submerge into the waters, the group takes out their weapons, Kunsel places Aerith down and readies for the next strike. And it didn't take long for it to come out again, but this time it's is attacking by the side and they end up avoid it again.

But luck is not on their side when the tail lash out and squarely hits Barret, who is sent skidding on the murky waters. "Barret!" Tifa shouts with worry as the black man shakily gets up and waves back that he's okay.

Once more, the Zolom charges on them, emerging from a different place. But this time they avoid it and strikes it on the side before it submerges again. It roars in pain and hisses angrily at them, lashing it's tail to knock them out. And the unfortunate one to get hit is Kunsel, who pushes Aerith down to avoid getting hit by the tail. The former Second is sent flying and crash down on the muddy ground just a few feet from them.

"Kunsel!" the flower girl shouts and goes after their fallen friend, as Barret provides cover fire for her. Once she reaches him, Tifa charges at the huge creature and cast Fire on the reptile's side. It proved to be not effective as the snake dives into the marsh to avoid the fire, it hit the murky water extinguishing it. Then it appears again, this time lunging on the feline who manage to dash out of the way. The blonde charges after it and slashes it's sides, causing it to thrash as he avoid being crush by the tail.

It then slips into the marsh, only to be hit by some bullets on the head by the black man. The reptile rises back out and roars at them, it then lunges at the feline only to get fire o it's face. Shaking it away, it then spots Aerith healing Kunsel and locks on them. With a hiss, it dives into the marsh and slithers its way to the two weaker companions.

"Where did that thing go?" the black man asked and on cue the reptile rises out of the water. It lunges at Aerith and Kunsel, who are surprise out of their wits when it came out of nowhere. "Dang it! MOVE!"

Snapping out, the former Second pushes her away as he scrambles to avoid being bitten. But his reaction is a bit late as the fang hits his right leg, yelping as he receive a nasty gash. Rolling on the ground as the reptile hit's face first on the muddy ground, the party waste no time to strike the reptile down. Tifa, who is near the snake, strikes at it with Beat Rush and Somersault before avoiding the swing of the tail. Barret shoots which misses when the reptile to moves into the marsh. But as it submerge, the tail lashes again, this time it hits Tifa and sending her crashing on the trees, knocking her out.

Aerith attempts to approach the fallen martial artist, when Red grabs her by her skirt as the reptile appears behind him and attempts to lunge on either of the two. Kunsel, who winces at the gash, stands up and uses his sword as a clutch for a moment. He then concentrated on casting Blizzard on the serpent as it thrashes when the black man shoots it again on the head. Unfortunately, due to it thrashing, it's tail lashes wildly and knocks Red to some rocks and out for the count. Then Cloud charges at it and performs Cross Slash on it's back, the serpent hisses in pain then attempts to bite on him… it ended up biting itself and roars in pain.

Now, it is really angry and lashes it's once more to take out it's assaulters. The tail hits Aerith and she skids before hitting ground, then it attempts to do the same on Cloud but he manage to dodge it and strike the tail. The serpent lunges again only to receive a mouthful of tree, when the blonde jumps away from it. As the reptile turn, a huge block of ice fell and hits it's head. The snake shakes it off, narrows it's gaze on them and tosses the tree away… and it fell on the former Second, because of his limp, could not get away in time.

"Kunsel!" the blonde shouts, as the black man yells thru the gunshots.

"Damn it! I'm not going to be some meal to a giant worm!" Barret shouts as he shoots wildly at the snake. "My baby girl needs me!" he then releases his limit break, Big Shot and hits…

But instead of falling from the impact, the serpent stands more higher than before and it's head is down… it then emit a red glow. It then release a burst of extreme heat and pressure, the blonde quickly holds up his sword in defense. He feels the hot scorching burst burn his expose elbow as it pass. Looking over his blade, he sees Barret down on the muddy ground, fainted with some second and first degree burn from the heat burst the serpent released.

"Damn it." he swore as he staggers a bit. "I better finish this soon or-" but he didn't notice the incoming tail and it hits him squarely. Despite the blade also connects with the tail, the serpent didn't mind as long as it's prey is weak and down.

As he hits the ground and the blade clatters far from his side, his thoughts went back to the two girls who quits the party due to his plan. He should've have listen to the two… Now his cockiness and his want to catch the silver general, cause everyone pain and death by being eaten by a 30 foot snake. Right now, he couldn't help but to let fear take a grasp on him as the snake slithers towards him. Inside, he does not know whether to laugh, cry or scream in this situation.

It flick it's tongue, tasting the air, then it rears it's head back and then strikes…

"WARK!" there is a shrill cry and the next thing Cloud knows, a blur of yellow came out of the blue and collides on the Zolom right on the head.

'What?' the blonde thought with surprise as the familiar yellow fowl lands in front of him and shrilling at the giant snake.

"Back off legless! They're not lunch!" a familiar voice shouts, causes Cloud to force his body up. And there he sees the two girls and their new friend, riding on their newly acquire chocobos along with a few more besides them. Inside, he is relief to see that Mira and Riley are back and the fear is slowly losing it's grip on him.

"Mira! Riley!" the blonde calls out, which is a bad move as the snake snaps it's attention back to him. Because there's a chocobo blocking, it tries swatting the bird away… only to get hit by Riley's Matra Magic. The snake hisses angrily at the caster as Riley blows a raspberry at it, along with a wark from her chocobo.

"Hey, Slytherin! I bet you can't catch a headless chocobo can ya!" the mime taunts as it runs around the serpent, then bolts away. Seeing it as a challenge, the serpent gives chase on the mime and her chocobo.

This gives Mira and Yuffie a chance to guide the other chocobos, and help the others. "Cloud! Are you okay?" the songstress asked, she immediately cast Cura on the blonde, healing the burns he receives from the Beta. Once the wounds are close and some pains are gone, Mira proceeds helping the ninja girl tie the rest of the party on the chocobos with a rope provided by the Wutai girl. The blonde quickly limps over to see if the other Ex-SOLDIER is okay, to his relief… a tall rock manage to stop it, but some braches broke and knocks him out. He quickly motions the two to help him with the other SOLDIER and then proceeds on looking at the others.

Once they securely tied the party and link the chocobos. "Yuffie… can you handle this?" the ravenette asked as she helps the blonde gets on the chocobo, she wheezes a bit to the fact that he's almost a dead weight like last time.

"Sure thing!" the ninja girl salutes with a grin, as the blonde is now securely on the yellow fowl. As the two checks the ropes, inside the ninja's mind she is mentally rubbing her hands together and giggling. 'He, he, he, once safe on land, I'll wait for this guy to faint and take all of their materias!' Once she gets the okay signal, she then kicks the side of the chocobo and lead the others towards the Mythril Mines.

The songstress stands there for a moment before she returns to her own chocobo, to find her best friend. "Note to self, hurry back before the ninja girl steals their materias."

Not far, the ninja sneezes.

**:::^*^:::**

Checking her armlet again, she got the Elemental and Dark Fire Materia link and the Enemy Skill materia on her dagger. She borrowed the yellow materia so it can learn the Beta, without letting Mira take the hit.

She doesn't have an Elemental materia like she does.

She then takes a look on her other armlet, the Shinra Beta she picks out from the dumps. On it is the Poison, Sense and the Lightning Materia, and in her pouch are the potions she needs. 'Good, I'm prepared to get hit and learn the Beta… still it puzzles me on why they don't wear the armlets on each arms?' she thought.

Her thoughts are snap short when the chocobo warks in alarm, the said Zolom appears in front of them and is about to bite the two. She yanks the reign and turns sharply left but since this is the first time she rides on the chocobo, she fell off the side as the chocobo races off. The giant serpent lunged over and miss her completely, taking this chance, she takes out her dagger and stabs the belly of the reptile. It did minor damage as the Zolom submerges into the marsh, and she scrambles back up.

Sheathing the dagger and taking out her tonfas, she stands still and waits for the next attack. As she waits, the serpent swims around and raises it's head like a crocodile do. It sinks back into the water as the mime snaps her head to that direction.

"Dude, don't make me wait… I just want to learn Beta." she quips as she looks around for the snake. And to her credit, the snake lunges out of the water with open mouth, but she quickly jumps and smash her tonfas on the snout. It effectively shuts the mouth and the serpent rears back to shake off the pain. It then roars angry at her and lashes it's tail, but she is able to jump back and cast lightning. "Come on! That's all?" she taunts as she jumps to the side, to avoid the mouth again.

The serpent roars, stands high and emitting a red glow, planning to end it once and for all. Seeing the snake's position, she takes out another materia from her pouch and quickly equips it before taking defense. Once more, it releases a extreme heat blast and the mime have to keep an eye on how it works, despite the heat equivalent of a microwave oven burns her. Getting the attack into memory and notices a glow from her dagger, she quickly dives into the marsh to cool her body off. She waited as the red glow diminish and then swims up, she spits out water as she get up and looks around.

The Zolom is missing.

"Great, surprise attack again." she mutters and arms herself, she then uses the Sense materia… her eyes widens.

She quickly dives away as the serpent burst out beneath her with it's mouth open, wanting it to swallow her immediately. Rolling on the muddy ground, she quickly cast lightning at it's open wounds. The serpent roars but remains up, hissing at her with more anger, it lunges at her again.

"… Wait for it…" she mutters to herself, as the serpent nears… she then jumps forward before the Zolom opens it's mouth. Reaching the serpent's forehead, she quickly activates one of her materias and smashes it's head with the tonfas. Which, on pressure and the materia, causes it to bend. Hearing it crack, the Zolom shrieks and then rolls and thrashes around as the mime moves away. The serpent continues thrashing and shrieking…

And then… it stills.

Riley looks at her bent tonfas and then at the Zolom, which is now dead from the blow on the head she gave to it. "… Dang, I need some better weapons." she stated before she threw the bent tonfas away and checks the Enemy Skill materia. Touching it, she smiles as a replay image of the Beta appears in her mind.

As she sheaths her dagger, her best friend arrives with her chocobo. Seeing the injury the mime gave to the huge snake. "Riley… did you took the Deathblow Materia?" Mira asked, seeing that Riley cannot make that kind of injury without a materia or enhancements, of sorts.

"Uh…? Actually it's the Death Slash, it works like a Deathblow materia…" the mime said sheepishly, as her best friend looks at her before she release an exaggerating sigh.

"Riley… that materia is made by Shinra, the quality of it is quite choppy and I think it is not safe to use it at all." she reprimands the mime as the brunette clambers back on her chocobo.

"Anyway, we better mosey off, or that ninja girl is going to steal the party's materia." Riley stated, then she looks at her best friend who is rubbing her eyes. "Seeing more of them?"

"Miners and traveler which the Zolom have eaten… lots of them and a few are thanking you for killing it. Plus… I also see the Zolom hissing at you."

"You're welcome! And Slytherin, you deserve that for eating those poor people. Have a safe trip back to the Lifestream!" then the mime kicks her chocobo and the two rides towards the mines.

**:::^*^:::**

A smile grazes on his face…

He can't wait to meet her again.

This time, he'll be a good boy to persuade her to go back to his mother's side.

* * *

><p>Silver: And CUT! Anyway, I'm researching about psychics and the paranormals… for this story, that will be the reason why Riley can mime and Mira can see the dead and the keytar spells. Most explanation will be on the next chapter, with our beloved Goddess explaining a few differences with theirs and from Earth's. Anyway… I'm reading something, that I think it will be also interesting for the next chapter… Also, I must keep a list of materias… I nearly forgot what materias Tifa got.<p> 


	18. Nocturne

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird does not own Final Fantasy 7 or the songs that are in this story, only her OCs… Otherwise, we might end up having a not-so-epic battle with the lawsuits.)

_**Altering Rhythm**_

_**Nocturne**_

Silver: Back into the story, we go! I had a hard time writing this one, because in this chapter…not only it focuses on Mira and Riley, Cloud gets a share of the limelight. You won't believe how many times I type and re-type this till I'm happy, especially on Mira's character.

* * *

><p><strong>Nocturne<strong>

Racing thru the marshes on their chocobos, the two decides to take this time to discuss their plans for the next stage.

"Okay, we got Yuffie early, that's quite a change." Riley noted, as he best friend lay down low on her chocobo. "You look like you're clinging on it instead of riding."

"Riley, have you ever thought of riding on a rowboat with the tides coming at both sides?" the songstress deadpans at her, grunting a bit. "Anyway… back to the point, the next stop is Fort Condor… should we help them on their first battle?"

"Hmmm… Well, we'll first need to rest up and restock some items." the mime noted and thinks again. "If we can't help them, let's donate a few gils for them to at least hire some fighters."

"Right, after that, Junon… we should equip what we need for that fight with the fish." the ravenette miffs, as they forgot to replace the party's equipments in Kalm. "By the way, since when are you proficient with the tonfas?"

"Since I was planning to cosplay as Hibari Kyouya this summer. And, man, those basic lessons from Youtube actually helps!" and the chocobo seems to wark in agreement, she chuckles. There is a pause between them… "By the way…" the brunette breaks the silence. "We didn't even get the chance to see how our job classes develop since we started this journey... or find out how we got them."

"… Yeah, I guess you're right." the songstress agreed. "All we know is: I'm a magical songstress and you're a hyper mime."

"True… who would've thought that you're Musical Empathic and a Medium."

"What?" and she stares at her best friend weirdly. She knows what a Medium is but not the first one.

"Musical Empathic, it means that you gain ability on playing music, no matter what kind of genre or style. That's the ability of the songstress or any characters who can use music as weapons." points at the keytar. "I, on the other hand… got Power Replication, which I can learn and use other abilities, like I remember and performed both Cloud's and Barret's Limit Breaks. And, of course, my proficiency on the tonfas and my stamina." and gives her best friend a cheeky grin.

"Riley… where and how the heck you know those?"

The brunette rolls her eyes and looks back on her best friend. "Have you not been curious on how the characters can use their powers and what type they are back in Earth?" in response, the songstress shakes her head and the mime sighs. "I read it in the internet, it's in a wiki where all of the powers, including the lesser ones, are posted." she then explains how she stumbles on it back in their 3rd year, when she is looking for the definition on the powers from a show called Avatar: Legend of Aang.

"So you memorized all of them?"

"Nah, I only recalled them because we have one ourselves or something that relates to what we are cosplaying." then they see the mines and a flock of yellow far from it. Then she looks back at the horizon. "Looks like we're going to spend the night out here for now." seeing the sun is slowly sinking and redirects her chocobo to the yellow flock.

"Right… so, what do you think is Aerith's power?" as she motions her chocobo to follow the other.

"Similar to you, she's a Medium, but more on hearing… I forgot what it is called but it is similar to Clairvoyance."

"It's Clairaudience." the songstress quips.

"Really? Wait, how do you know that?"

"Riley… I'm the one who have a hidden spirit affinity, so I happens to know them."

"Oh right…" the mime quips and the two continues discussing about each of the characters' powers. They then learn that when Aerith die, she will gain the ability to manipulate Life-Force, more specific Mana. Both Cloud and Sephiroth are enhance like Captain America, but the latter is more on supernatural enhancement with psychological manipulation. The other party are also enhance but not on the same level as Cloud, but the mime couldn't classify anymore abilities aside from Yuffie's ninjutsu and Vincent's and Jenova's Shape-shifting. "Which reminds me… does Jenova reminds you of the Phantoms, the ones from Final Fantasy: Spirit Within?"

"That's because Square used the FFVII as a reference."

"Oh yeah…" the mime said as the sight of their party becomes clear. "Let's talk all of this next time, right now, last one to reach the party is a rotten chocobo egg!" and kicks her yellow fowl in a full run.

"Hey!" the songstress protest as she motions her chocobo to catch up.

**:::^*^:::**

Arriving on land, far from the marshes and the cave, Yuffie heels the Chocobos and gets off. She then yanks the chocobos under the ledge, where it is a suitable site to make a camp. She then helps the blonde off his ride first and place him on a rock.

The ninja attempts on taking a materia or two from him, when she yelps as she is suddenly pull back by her headband. Turns out, the chocobo Cloud ride on, must have sense the ninja's plot and yanks her away from it's blonde kin. She yells at the chocobo for being a stupid bird, which in turn warks at her back. She miffs at this and decided to just pick the others instead, as the chocobo sits beside the blonde and watches the ninja girl wary. The blonde Ex-SOLDIER watches the young girl as she attempts to untie his friends, only the yellow fowl gets up and moves away from her. It's quite a comical scene and he just sat there, recovering from the pain.

As he waits for the two to return…

"Hey!" the young ninja calls and he looks at her. "I didn't get your name!"

He just stares at her for a moment, thinking if he should say it. Thankfully, they hear a pair of warks and turns to see other two chocobos with their riders.

"Yeah!" both girls fist pumps as they get their chocobos to a skidding halt. Riley is grinning like she ate an entire chocolate cake, as Mira smiles that everyone is safe before she frowns and seems to recoil from her best friend.

"Man, you stink." the songstress points out and covers her nose.

"Hey, I faced the Zolom till it goes quit, so you couldn't help marsh diving." the mime protested, as Mira waves the smell away. "Got any clothes to change?"

"No, aside from the dress I bought in Midgar, I don't have any." as she continues waving the smell off and couldn't help to hear a buzz or two. 'Gaia… we got some clothes and stuff when we arrived in this world, but you couldn't provide us with something to change with, just in case? I'm starting to feel uncomfortable.' the songstress thought as the chocobos lowers down

"Mira! Riley!" Yuffie shouts, as the two gets down from their chocobos, although the mime stumbles a bit when one of the wings flaps and hits her leg. "You're back!"

"Yeah, the Zolom is a hard opponent but since it's weak, not much of a problem." she quips, then she notices the party is still tied on the chocobos. "Yuffie, did you left them there?"

"HEY! Blame the stupid birds! Not me!" the ninja girl protested and in respond, one of the chocobos smartly peck her on the head. "HEY!" yelping as she throws punches at the bird and yells at them. The bird merely gives her a look as the punches didn't connect and looks away.

Both girls shakes their head and goes to the ninja to calm her down. Once she calms, they then proceed untying the party, Mira takes the tents and turns them into makeshift sleeping mat. As the two heaves Barret to the nearest mat, the songstress calls for the blonde to help them a bit… but he didn't move.

"Cloud?" that's when the songstress notices the blonde is looking down on the ground, his blue eyes is glowing a bit. 'What?' she thought and then carefully shakes him awake. "Cloud… Cloud. Cloud!" she shouts

Snapping back, he shakes his head and holds his forehead. 'What is that?" he thought, all his vision was practically a blur for a moment and was hearing jumbles. He then turns to see the songstress is giving him a worried look.

"You okay?" she asked.

"… Yeah…" he replied, but she knows there's something disturbing him. But she decides to wait and she stands up, she then ask if he's okay on helping their friends on the makeshift mats. He nodded and stands up, he hiss on the pressure of the weight on his bruise. She gives him a look but he walks pass her and helps the other two.

Once they laid everyone on the mats, Mira is about to cast Cure on them when she pauses… she then looks at her keytar, that is pulsing on her back and touches it. An image comes into her mind and she smiles, she then glows allowing the gentle magic to grow.

'A limit break? When did she get a new one?' Riley thought, as the speakers gives a soft glow. Her best friend then plays the piano setting and she begins to listen to a familiar song.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,

That saved a wretch like me.

Mira sings, as the keytar pulses.

I once was lost but now am found,

Was blind, but now I see.

T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.

And Grace, my fears relieved.

Looking at the fallen party members, they see a wave of white glow emitted from the keytar, washes on them and getting rid of the dirt.

How precious did that Grace appear

The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares

I have already come;

The wounds then stitches itself closes and left nothing but faint scars.

'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far

and Grace will lead me home.

The song ends and Mira smiles on her handy work, as the ninja girl gapes at her, the blonde manage to hide his surprise and her best friend just grins stupid.

"Awesome! Now we don't have to waste potions at all!" the mime quips happily, earnings the look from the blonde and the ninja. "What?" she asked, as the songstress rolls her eyes.

"… Right, let's set up the camp. Riley, Cloud, you stay here and watch over." the ravenette instructed and turns to Yuffie. "You and I will go picking some woods."

"Aw…! Can't I stay?" the ninja girl asked, hoping she could find a way to steal their materias somehow. But both girls shakes their head and the ninja ends up being push by the mime as the songstress tails behind them. Once the two are out picking woods, the mime then ushers the blonde on watch and patrol.

**:::^*^:::**

As they pick some woods, the ninjas mouth goes really non-stop, from bragging to complaining and then back to bragging again. Right now, the songstress is mentally patting herself by the back and ignoring the motor-mouth. 'I better thank Riley for being my best friend.' she thought, as she picks another stick.

As she looks for more wood, something hit's the tip of her boot and rolls into the grass. 'Ouch… what is that?' she thought and looks for the item she kicks. And there she finds… a materia.

But not any materia… a Goddess materia.

Not looking back at the ninja girl, she quickly snatch the materia and place it in her pocket for a while. She then looks back to see Yuffie is still bragging and picking random sticks on the ground. 'That is close…' she thought.

"_Mira…"_

"Crap-tastic…" she mutters and then walks to the ninja girl. "Hey Yuffie, here." she stated and dumps the rest of the woods on the younger girl's arms.

"What- HEY!" Yuffie yelps as she felt the sudden weight of added woods on her arms. "What's the big idea?!"

"I'm going to look for more woods and I'm going to need a bathroom break." the songstress stated as she readjust her headset. "Bring those back so they can start a fire."

"… You found something, don't you?" giving her companion a look and she challenge that look back. They kept staring till the songstress spun her around and push her back to the direction of the camp. "HEY!" she yelps once more.

"Believe me, Yuffie. If I found something, I would share it to the entire party." Mira scoffs as she push the ninja girl. 'Well… not everything.' she added mentally and with one final push, the younger girl gets the message and heads back to where the others are. The songstress watches as the ninja is gone from her view, she then breathe in relief and turns to meet with the goddess.

Only she meets face to face with a transparent image of the Midgar Zolom.

"GAH!" She yelps and jumps back. "For the love of-! Can't you just go back into the Lifestream and recycle yourself?!" she yells at the decease serpent, which merely flicks it's tongue and looks at her. She just face palms and walks pass the dead snake… only it moves in front of her and made her trip over some rocks. Muttering about dead have no sense of direction, she turns on her back and yells at the serpent to get out of her sight.

The dead reptile could only stare at her before it slithers away from her. Sighing at her situation, she then notices one of her belt bag is open and the Shinra-manufactured Materias are scattered around along with the Goddess materia. Blowing her hair out of her face, she gets up and begins to pick up the orbs…

Then… she feels something.

'What?' she thought, looking down at the manufactured materia. Of course, she knew it feels choppy and the effects are short-lived than the natural materia. But now she feels something else and she quickly picks the Goddess materia to be sure… and finds the difference.

'I see… it feels tangled so the manufactured one ares not that effective.' she compares the manufactured materia and the natural materia to a ball of yarn. The natural can bring the best of the spell because it is winded properly. The manufactured, on the other hand, is a tangled mess. So when one cast a spell, some of the energy flows back to the core and it is not effective as the natural does.

As she pockets the Goddess materia, she then begins picking all of the manufactured materia. Feeling each one, she can tell that the company sucks on making materias. 'Not only they use spirit energy for electricity, they suck on making these…' she thought.

Once she gathered all of the materias, Mira is about to pack them back when she gives one more look on them. She once more feels the tangle and is tempted to fix it. 'Perhaps… just one try.' she thought, she knew she is no expert on fixing the orbs but it's better doing something than waiting for the goddess to appear.

Picking a manufactured Barrier, the one she used in the battle back in Shinra HQ, she stares at it before focusing on the tangle. Once she feels it, she then thinks of untangling it… and then it begins to move. She gaze on the materia in her hands as she focus on combing the tangle away.

Then she hears… a crack.

Snapping out of focus, there she sees a crack on the materia… and it is growing. 'Oh… crap! I'm going to break it!' she thought, as she immediately stops fixing it. But it is too late, the tangle is loose and the materia continues to crack. She quickly drop the materia, but before it touches the ground, it completely breaks and a bright green light explodes.

Then… she feels drained, heavy, her body protests on her lack of energy and falls.

Her view blackens.

**:::^*^:::**

Arriving at the camp, Yuffie sees the brunette and the feline are up, the former talking with Riley while the latter sits near a rock. The ninja girl dumps the woods beside them and grumbles as she takes a seat on the rock, near the red cat. The feline notices the songstress is not with her.

"Hey… where's Mira?" Red asked, but instead of getting a proper answer, the ninja yelps and fells off the rock she's sitting on.

"IT TALKS?" she exclaims with shock, as Red sighs at this.

Riley notice this reaction and sees her best friend is missing. "Hey, where's Mira?" she asked the ninja girl, but the young girl merely points at the feline. "Yes, he talks, Yuffie." she deadpans with a brow raise. "Where's Mira?" she asked again

"Hmph, she said that she's getting more woods and I should bring these back first for the fire." the younger girl stated, sounding like she's been scolded by her mother.

The mime stares at her before looking at the path the two took, and then she sighs. "Thirty minutes, Riley… thirty minutes." she notes herself.

"You're not going to find her?" Aerith asked, as the mime looks back at her.

"It's okay, despite Mira lacking on the stamina department, she is not a pushover." the mime said casually as she picks the woods and starts a fire. Then suddenly, Aerith sits a little straight and her eyes showing confusion. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know…" she replied and shakes her head. She hears the voice of the Planet, this time it's a little louder than when she was in Midgar. It sounds like an ordinary murmur then she hears a happy tone in it. She can't make what they are saying, but she only got one word from all the jumbled speech.

"… _Prayer…"_

As she wonders what the Planet wants to say, no one notice the brief flash of green light from the distance.

**:::^*^:::**

Groaning, she sits up, groaning as she breathes and rubs her temples. 'Ow… my head.' she thought as she gets up.

"_Greeting once more, Mira."_

She then turns to see the goddess in her full armor with her staff and shield, except for her helmet. But that is not all… the songstress finds herself in outer space, with Gaia above them. Her eyes twitches at this view and her mind is spazzing on how she got here, can she breathe in space, etc. The goddess smiles a bit and floats towards her.

Seeing the goddess nears her, she snaps her focus on her main problem. "Another thing…" she mutters to herself and then points at the blonde deity, looking quite peeve. "What is going on here?!" she demanded.

The goddess gives her a look, like the ones most mothers look when they don't know what to do with their misbehaved kids. _"I see you found the Ground Materia."_

And the songstress looks a little more peeve as the blonde goddess didn't answer her question. She tries again. "Minerva… why did you open my sixth sense? And where are we?"

"_I have to bring you here so we can meet. I will not be able to contact you for periods of time as I must protect my vessel."_

"Is it Jenova?" the songstress asked, the goddess nods at her. She then remembers that Minerva is actually a powerful summon from the Planet. 'She's the Planet's messenger… which is why she is labeled as a goddess.' she thought, then looks at her. "Still you did not answer my first question." she stated bluntly.

"_Young one, I did not wake your ability."_

"Then the Planet did it?"

"_You did it on your own."_

As if there are sound effects, Mira swear she heard a CD track rip. "What? How?" she asked, she looks incredulously at her as she don't remember trying to open her sixth sense. 'Like I wanted to.' she snorts with her she tries to remember what she did to open her sixth sense again. Then it hits to her and looks on her keytar, remembering how it can attack and cast spells from it. She thought that it might have some materias in inside when she first use it, only now it's actually…

"Don't tell me… this instrument is the one responsible on my ability?" she asked incredulously, as she handles and points at her instrument. The blonde summon looks on her equipment and senses the energy from it.

"_That probably did… along with the materias, it broke the lock and improve your ability."_

And it begins a mental scolding in her mind and spazzing, much to the goddess' amusement. 'Stupid! Stupid! DUH! I should've notice that the keytar is not normal! And the materia are made from spirit energy! It can help improve a psychic's sensitivity!' she thought as she begins pacing back and forth at this revelation. She didn't really know that using the spells from the instrument and materias can reawaken her ability to sense the paranormal again. Suddenly she lost her balance and fell flat on her butt, a materia falls out of her pouch. As she ease the pain on her rear, she scrambles to go after the rolling purple orb.

Then… when she caught the materia, she feels the tangles once more and accidentally combz them out. As the materia cracks, the blonde summon observes as the songstress panics and releases the breaking materia for the second time. Scooting back, both of them witness the materia explodes into a bright, green light…

… Then converts itself into its raw energy form.

"_Interesting…"_ Minerva noted, as she floats towards the spirit energy, touching it and sensing it's feelings. _"You can release the spirit energy from their confine form."_

"What?" Mira said in disbelief and stares at the Lifestream that twirls in the air, then it heads off to joins it's companions in the Planet.

Minerva notices the confuse and shock look on the songstress' face and offers a small smile to her. _"It's alright… you'll learn soon."_ then she shifts a bit and looks back at the Planet. _"Our time is up once more. I do hope you find the answers you seek."_ she then left in a green swirl of light.

Then the area around the songstress turns black, then it returns… she find herself back in the same place where the first materia exploded in front of her.

"_Oh and I almost forgot…"_

Suddenly, a twirl of the Lifestream came out of the ground and forms a small trunk with a few gold designs.

"_A present from my vessel."_

**:::^*^:::**

Thirty minutes is up and Mira is still out, the mime gears up and is ready to fine her best friend. Once making sure that they party is awake and the ninja is behaving, she gives the blonde a heads up on finding Mira before heading off.

**:::^*^:::**

The ravenette sits on the said box, still not returning and staring at the manufactured materia in her hands. She didn't even bother opening the box and see what's inside.

She sighs and gets up… "I better get back. The others are probably getting worry and Riley is going to look for me."

"Dang right I did." a voice said, causing her to jump a good feet and turns to see Riley with her arms cross. "Where the heck have you been?"

The songstress looks at her best friend and sighs, seeing that they are alone…. "… In a unwanted conversation with the Goddess." she said with a deadpan tone.

"Wait… she appeared to you again?"

"Yeah… this time, I only learn one thing."

She then begins to tell her how her sixth sense opens and her discovery of a new ability. Once more she focuses on the tangle in the materia and straighten them out, but this time she holds on to the orb as it dissipates and converts back into it's spiritual form. She watches as it twirls in the air and then seeps into the ground. And her best friend looks gobsmack on that.

"… Well dang flabbit." her best friend mutters on seeing it, then looks back at the songstress. "Are you a Cetra?" she asked.

"No, Riley, I'm not a Cetra."

"Are you sure?"

"Minerva told me, plus she is also intrigue on how I can release the spirit energy from it's confined from."

"Aye, an Musical Empathic with Medium skills… are you can Exorcist?" the mime asked and the ravenette looks at her, which she quickly holds up her hands. "What? It is the only way for the spirits to be release."

"… Probably… if Aerith can call the Lifestream, maybe I can send them back into the Planet."

"Oh wow, Meer… are you a Spiran?" the mime asked, the thought came to her when she heard the latter.

"Riley, we both came from Earth."

"I know, but you can cast some spells without a materia, even though we don't know if your keytar got some… You can see spirits in a way Aerith can't, you summoned a gryphon out of a spell, and you can release spirits and send them back into Gaia." Riley listed out and looks back at her best friend. "Some of it screams Spiran Summoner, if you ask me… Wow, I guess the theory of FFX and FF7 being connected are not that far behind…"

"Ugh…" the songstress breathes and looks back equally. "Riley, it still does not explain why we're here... Aside from our own agendas for Cloud, Aerith and Sephiroth. And the thing I did to the materia is not the one summoners usually performs in a Sending… I highly doubt a summoner can do the same like I did."

"Hey, time changes things. Maybe the way they perform a Sending becomes different as time come and goes." she shrugs and looks back at the distance, where their camp is. "You know, we should head back now. The others are probably wondering where we gone to."

"Yeah."

"I'm still holding my theory of you being a Spiran." as her best friend glares at her. "Or having a power of a Spiran Summoner." she shrugs as the songstress rolls her eyes, then she spots the box her companion is sitting on. "What's in the box?"

Mira shrugs and only mentions that the Planet gave it to her. They open it and there they found clothes, which made the two happy to have something to change in once they find a place for a bath. Once they pack it in their pouch, they left the box and picks a few woods on the way back.

The box then dissipates back into the ground… and in the area, little sprouts of green emerges out of the ground

**:::^*^:::**

Once they return to camp, both girls drops the woods and sits by the fire. As Tifa and Aerith distribute the food, the camp is quite quiet aside from Yuffie chattering on the Ex-Second. The two are a little uncomfortable with this scenery, as they accept the food from the two. Looking around, they notice something… Cloud is looking down, although he does not show it, he gives off a depress vibe. Barret and Red looks doubting a bit… as if they couldn't trust on the blonde being the leader after the Zolom fiasco. Tifa decides not to speak about it, while Aerith tries to cheer the atmosphere up with little to no success.

Mira sighs at this while Riley slightly bow her head a bit as they eat their share. "So… how do we lift the atmosphere up?" the songstress asked, the brunette thinks about it and got a bright idea. She then whisper it to her and the songstress couldn't help to smile at that. Nodding at the idea, both of them wait till meal time is over.

Once they have their fill…

"So… how about story-telling?" The mime suggested, as she packs her canteen and the group looks at her. "You know to pass time?"

"That's a great idea." Aerith pipes up, as she too can't bear the silence.

"Uh…? I guess it's okay." Cloud noted and looks at the two.

"Okie dokie! Both Meer and I know a story, this one was used to be told back in our village when we where kids." The mime pipes up.

"A bedtime story?" the Barret asked, sounding drawl and miff at it.

"Nope! Every once a month, villagers makes stories and tells them at the court where everyone is gathered. The people then judge if the stories are worth remembering or not… it's kinda like a day off for the farmers, so they can enjoy with their families." The songstress made up a tradition of the Banora Village and she hopes that she didn't sound like she's faking it.

Especially to Kunsel, who is a Turk in a SOLDIER clothing.

"So… what we start or what?" the mime asked and the group, seeing it is a bit early to sleep, decides to let them have a go. "Okay, this story is called… the Deathly Hallows." the title made the group stare at them as Red lies down and listen.

"There were once three brothers who were traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight. In time, the brothers reached a river too dangerous to cross. However, these brothers were learned in the magical arts, and so they simply waved their wands and made a bridge appear across the treacherous water. They were halfway across it when they found their path blocked by a hooded figure." The songstress recites

"It is Death." the mime said in a dramatic effect, causing the other girls to gasps and Red's ears perks a little with interest. "And he was angry… Angry that he had been cheated, for travelers usually drowned in the river. But Death was cunning. He pretended to congratulate the three brothers upon their magic, and said that each had earned a prize for having been clever enough to evade him."

The girls then tells them the gifts the three brothers each demand. A powerful wand for the eldest brother, a stone that can summon back the dead for the second, and a cloak of invisibility for the third and youngest brother. Then Death stood aside and allowed the brothers to continue on their way and they did so, talking with wonders of the adventure they had had, and admiring Death's gifts. In due course the brothers separated for their own destination.

"Here comes the best part!" Riley stated with a smile, then looks at her best friend.

"The first brother traveled on till he reach a distant village, he sought out a fellow wizard with whom he had a quarrel." The songstress recites, no one notice the mime goes missing. She then tells them that the elder brother found the said wizard and killed him, he then boasted of his incredible gift he got from Death and how it made him powerful. "And on that very night, another wizard crept upon the oldest brother as he lay drunk on his bed. The thief took the wand and, for good measure, slit the oldest brother's throat." and added a hand motion, showing how it slit's the throat.

"And so Death took the first brother for his own." Riley said in a creepy voice, with a flash light beneath her and reappearing behind Kunsel and Yuffie. Naturally, Yuffie leapt quite high in shock as Kunsel was pushed off from his seat. The mime laughs out loud as she runs away from a fuming ninja, as Kunsel stares dumbfounded on what happen.

After the short chase, the two returns back to their seats and continues with the story…

"The second brother journeyed to his own home." the songstress then tells the group how he used the stone, and calls back his beloved from the dead. But she is not truly alive, cold and suffering because they are separated by the veil. "Finally, the second brother, driven mad with hopeless longing, killed himself so as truly to join her."

"And so Death took the second brother for his own." once more the mime stated it in a dramatic and creepy way. But this time, she remains on her seat as she place the flash light beneath her. Both Aerith and Tifa couldn't help but to giggle with her antics, as Barret snorts and Kunsel smiles a little.

Then the songstress tells how Death had a difficulty on finding the last brother. And on attaining a great age, did the youngest brother takes off his cloak and gives it to his son. "And then he greeted Death as an old friend, and went with him gladly, and, equals, they departed this life." the songstress then ends the tale.

The party stares at the two for a moment, then…

"W-w-what? He gave up the cloak?" the ninja girl asked incredulously.

"Yeah… he did." Riley replied.

"WHY?"

"Because he achieved growing old."

"But he could've lived longer!"

"Oh yeah, live long with the wrinkles. Yuffie, this is not the Fountain of Youth, it's about Death."

"Anyway, the moral of the story." the songstress quips and interrupts the two. "Even if you manage to avoid or defeated Death, it is inevitable. You can only delay it."

There is silence…

Somehow the girls gets the feeling that the party is thinking of why do they have to tale a story relating to Death. Inwardly, they can only remember short stories well, if it's a novel or similarly longer than that… they can summarize it but there'll be some plot holes though.

"That is a interesting story, along with the lesson behind it." the red feline said, as he flicks his tail.

"Thanks Red." Both girls said at the same time, nodding at him. The group then fix their makeshift mats and Barret takes the first watch with Red for the second and Cloud for the last. As they secure their packs and making sure it is safe from unwanted animals, or in Mira's and Riley's case.

"Hey Cloud, feeling better?" the songstress asked as the blonde looks at her and her friend, before looking away.

"… Sorry…" he mutters, the girls smiles at this and the mime pats on his back.

"It's okay, leadership takes trials and errors, you know." Riley said cheerfully and the blonde relaxes a bit. "Besides, leaders must be tough enough to fight, tender enough to cry, human enough to make mistakes, humble enough to admit them, strong enough to absorb the pain, and resilient enough to bounce back and keep on moving."

He stares at her, for a moment or two before he sighs and mess the mime's hair. She yelps as she jumps back and fix her hair. "Thanks." he said as he lays back on his matt.

The two smiles a bit and they lie down, sleep came after.

**:::^*^:::**

Green… that's all the view can offer and cold not move.

Then voices came.

"_Three brothers…"_

"_Three SOLDIER First."_

Then everything goes black…

"_Death…"_

"_Degradation… Calamity…"_

"_First brother… A powerful wand."_

An image of the back of the silver general, one hand holding the Masamune and the other a head with metal plating on. A feeling of anger fills as he attempts to reach him.

"_Death took the first brother."_

Suddenly, tentacles came out and wraps around the figure, and when it unwraps… he is gone with a hint of green flash on the dark floor.

"_Second brother… a stone to call back the dead."_

An image of a unknown man appears. Red coat, auburn hair and wields a bloody-red sword, but what stands out the most… is the single black wing on his left and his hair is graying.

For some odd reason… he seems familiar…

"_Took the second brother…"_

Suddenly a whirl of green light came from the dark floor and wraps itself on the said man… and he too vanish.

"_The third brother…"_

Another one appears, but this time, back in the green space. Not far… is a dying man, in a SOLDIER First uniform and a black silhouette just kneeling beside him. And the silhouette is crying for the man… but that does not surprise him.

On the silhouette's hands is…

Suddenly, everything breaks like glass, the voices begins to grow louder and the image disappears. Suddenly the scenery changes in rapid successions from the green space, the fire, the reactor… it kept changing as the voices grows louder.

A putrid smell comes to his nose…

The voices turns to shrieks and wails.

Pain… all over him, but the most painful one is his head.

Somehow, he can hear a sick laugh from the shrieks and wails.

Then…

A blade sprouts from his abdomen, along with excruciating pain and one final voice…

"… _Cloud… Hold on, okay?"_

All he can do is scream…

**:::^*^:::**

Literally rolling out of her mat and on her crouching battle stance, Riley looks around wildly. Mira, on the other hand, flails a bit before sitting up and looking around to see what woke them and the party up.

Not far from the two and just beside Red, the blonde is screaming and wailing out as sweats form on his brow.

'A nightmare?' both girls thought as the flower girl approaches him. "Ah! Aerith! Don't!" they both shouts.

Too late, once she touches the blonde's forehead, he freezes for a second before lasing out at her. Aerith fell flat on her butt and barely miss the arm, she quickly scrambles away from him as Kunsel and Barret quickly gets up and holds the blonde down from thrashing. Unfortunately, Barret got hit on the nose and Kunsel is hit by the abdomen.

"Ow! My snose!" the black man yelps in pain and the other wheezes a bit, as the blonde continues to thrash and scream. Once they recover, they jump on him and hold him down, yet Barret is easily knock off by the blonde's strength as Kunsel tries to keep a hold of him from behind.

'Shit! How strong is this guy?' the Ex-Second thought as he struggles to hold him down. Then Cloud's eyes snaps open, glowing more brightly than the usual… and shouts what the two Earth girls didn't expect to hear.

"Give them back! My mother! Tifa! My village! Give them back!" he screams and thrashes more wildly, trying to get out of the other Ex-SOLDIER's grip. The bar maid quickly comes to his side and tells him that she's okay and alive. Hearing her voice, slowly his body relaxes and then slumps with a whimper escaping his lips.

Silence reigns as the entire party stares at the blonde, who is more on unconscious, than sleeping on his mat. Seeing that Cloud is incapable of taking the last watch, Riley quickly volunteers to takes his place before Kunsel could speak up as he place their companion down. Sleepy and have no ability to protest, they agreed on the mime taking the watch and they return to sleep.

A few moments later, she checks the watch on her PHS and pokes her best friend awake. Once the songstress is up, they quietly went to a corner and secures the area.

"That line…" the songstress said as Riley keeps an eye on the sleeping group.

"Yep, do you think…?"

"Something must have triggered it… but what?" both girls think of what could trigger Cloud's mental attack.

"I got the funky feeling that the shit is not far off from hitting the fan." Riley stated and her best friend nods in agreement. They then discuss about their plan on the blonde, thinking of a way to talk to him privately and away from Tifa.

**:::^*^:::**

Hissing…

"_I should have seen this coming…"_

Now it begins the struggle for control…

"_My son… my dear, dear child, do not fail me…"_

* * *

><p>Silver: Could it be that Mira is a Spiran? … Who knows, but as the story progresses we'll find out more as both girls learn and grow. Can't believe that I'll be crossing some FFX in this… but it is the only way to point who difference between her and Aerith. Yeah… also it turns out I'll be using one ability from another game, but made by the same company, for Mira's job class… Song Summoner. This happens when I tried finding skills that would set her and the Cetra apart. AAAAARRGGGHHH! *frails and faints.* Ugh… anyway, yes Beedle the Bard, the Tale of Three Brothers, use it to at least jog the blonde's memory. It's about time Cloud remembers… even if it's just a little. READ AND REVIEW! They are my bread and coffee!<p>

NOTE: Another thing, I don't own Beedle the Bard, it belongs to J.K. Rowling. Also, there's a quote there which belongs to Jesse Jackson.


	19. Spelunking anyone?

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird does not own Final Fantasy 7 or the songs that are in this story, only her OCs… Otherwise, we might end up having a not-so-epic battle with the lawsuits.)

_**Altering Rhythm**_

_**Spelunking anyone?**_

Silver: Hi ho! Hi ho! Thru the mines we explore! Then after we meet the Turks! ... I'm not spoiling, READ!

* * *

><p><strong>Spelunking anyone?<strong>

Green eyes staring at the blue sky…

Sighs and Mira packs the tent, it's morning now and the party are going to head into the Mythril Mine.

"Is there something wrong?" the songstress turns and sees Aerith, her arms are full by her own tent.

"Nothing… I just miss my home." she replied.

"Oh… where is your home?" the flower girl asked out of curiosity.

"Banora." but in truth, she is starting to miss Earth and her family. Right now, she is wondering if their family are looking for them. Thoughts of their family hiring investigators and putting up missing posters, since their bodies are missing and alive in this incredible world. 'Or perhaps we're dead and then possessed a pair of traveler who looks exactly like us.' she chuckles at the thought as she hefts her keytar up. "But Riley and I can't go back."

"Hmmm…? Why?"

"Because Shinra destroyed it." and tells her a short description on how they survive and the start of being travelers.

Once everyone is ready, the songstress spots the same flock of chocobos they rode on, still there and grazing not far from them. She shoos them away, but they stare at her and give a few warks and kwehs before they race back to the grassland. After making sure they are gone, she returns her focus on the party.

Since the panic attack last night, Tifa, Aerith and Barret became a little wary on the blonde. Plus, he does not remember screaming that night, which Tifa decides to hide it and convinces the party not to tell. Thinking he is not ready to know and might separate from them if he does, which the bar maid does not want. The party silently agrees to it, while the two girls shakes their heads.

"If we get a chance, we should tell him…" the mime whispered to the songstress, who agrees to this as she takes back her Enemy Skill materia.

Seeing everyone pack and ready to go, the group heads to the cave. As they head there…

"Excuse me…" the red feline said as he trots to the two girls side. "I've heard that you've been at Cosmo Canyon before."

The songstress releases a mental alarm on this one, remembering that she told Kunsel that they were heading for Cosmo Canyon when they first met Zack. But the mime plays it cool and looks at him. "Yeah, but we couldn't enter because they were full in capacity. So we decided to head to the next town… which happens to be…" she then points at Cloud and Tifa.

"Oh… but have you seen my grandfather?" he asked.

"What does he looks like?" the mime asked as her best friend calms her racing heart. He is about to describe him, when they hear the group gasps and turns to see. "Aye Caramba…" she said without thinking.

Right in front of them, is the Zolom… stabbed on the head by a huge pike in a clearing and is left there to be seen. They are shock aside from Riley and Mira, who knows what's going on, and Cloud who've seen enough. He snaps the group out of the shock trance and warns them to be careful, agreeing to it, they walk around the morbid scene and it wasn't long to find the entrance to the mine. Both girls takes one more look on the stabbed Zolom, before following into the mine.

"See it?" the mime asked, as the group goes further a little.

"No… it's not there. Must have been the same Zolom I saw last night." the songstress shrugs as they catch up with the others.

**:::^*^:::**

Entering the mine, the two girls are awed on what the saw. For them, they are convince that Square Enix didn't do justice on the mine's design in the FFVII game. Since the mining stopped since the Midgar Zolom came, the walls of the mine are covered in metals that sparkles like stars in the night. They also spots some roots of trees wrapping around some of the metal, making it look like a glowing egg in a hollow tree. They even spot a few mining equipments, which were left behind my miners, probably to get away from the Zolom.

And Riley learns the hard way on finding out how old the equipment is, when she touch a pickaxe stuck on a wall… which fell off and stub her toe. "OW!" she yelps, holds her foot and begins hopping, as she gives the said equipment a death glare.

Yuffie laughs at that, Mira only snorts and shakes her head, Red's only reaction is the flick of his tail, Aerith giggles a bit and Tifa chuckles as she gives the mime a support.

"I have to say, this place is cool… if it weren't for the hazards outside." the songstress said, pointing with her thumb by the entrance.

"True…" Kunsel agrees, rubbing the back of his head as the scene of the Zolom throwing the tree at him replays in his mind. He quickly shakes it off and looks around, spotting a few shadows and faint growls. "Still we need to be careful, this place is crawling with monsters."

"Right, let's split up and find clues, same grouping arrangement: Kunsel go right, we'll go left." Cloud instructs, as Yuffie scoots to the mime's side and the songstress walks towards him and Tifa.

They then heads on their way.

**:::^*^:::**

"I miss the pencil and notebook…." the songstress whined a bit, causing the three to look at her as they climb the stone steps.

"Pencil and notebook?" the blonde asked, as Red finds a vial not far from the top of the steps.

"I used to have them for drawing… but I lost them after being attack by some monsters when we're visiting what's left of our hometown." she half-lied, as her right hand twitches and trudges on. 'Man, I want to draw again! I'm sure Riley feels the same way…'

"So… what do you draw?" Tifa asked, as Cloud opens the chest.

"Landscapes, animals and people." the songstress replied. "Sometimes I also draw stuffs that came from my imaginations, some of it are cute and some are dress designs."

"Wow, so you're an artist."

She shrugs a bit. "Kinda, I just miss holding the pencil and the images I drew on the papers."

"There's nothing here anymore, we should go back." both of them turns their attention back to the blonde as he zip his satchel shut.

'… He's going to miss the Long Range materia…' the songstress thought, as the head down. 'Better guide him again.' then she pretends to look over the ledge where the said materia is. Tip-toeing, stretching, even jumps it caught their attention as she pretends to look over the ledge.

"Mira, what are you doing?" Red asked and immediately she stops.

"I saw something shine over that ledge."

"That's just the Mythril." Cloud stated as if it's the obvious answer.

"Yeah, but Mythril don't shine purple." she points out and she hope he takes the bait, she mentally prays that there is no purple Mythril as the blonde looks at her.

"Purple?" and he looks up at the ledge.

'YES!' she thought as the blonde decides to investigate it and climbs up the ledge, using the roots. As Cloud reaches the top, he quickly spots the said purple thing… a materia and picks it up. Then he hears a scream and he runs to the edge to see the songstress is hit by the monster's Flamethrower. Tifa quickly comes to her side as Red barks and growls at the flying reptile as it hisses back, as the songstress frantically puts out the fire with Tifa's help. Then, as the bar maid is about to give her shaken friend a potion, they hear hisses and turns to see three Crawlers.

Taking out the Hardedge, he takes a leap and Red distracts the flying reptile as he bring down his blade on it. Due to the momentum and speed, he manages to cut the Arc Dragon in half and, on landing, he releases a bolt spell on one of the Crawlers. It caught it's attention and slithers towards the blonde as the others attacks the two. But they didn't get a bite on them as Cloud slices it's head off , Tifa effectively stomping it's head on the stone floor and Mira shocks hers with a Thundara then Red finishes it off.

As she breathes, a hand reaches out to her and looks up to meet Cloud.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Get this burning feeling off me." she weakly stated as Cloud helps her up and the bar maid gives her a potion. She downs the potion but she is still shaking.

"Mira, are you really okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm fine…" she quickly waves it off and takes deep breaths… 'Of all things to be hit with, it has to be fire.' she thought tiredly as she calms herself and wills herself to stop shaking.

It didn't take long to calm herself, but she a bit jumpy and still visibly shaken. But the three decides not to ask why and heads back to the entrance.

**:::^*^:::**

After beating some Castanets and Riley learning Flamethrower and Cold Breath, which weird her out again since Cold Breath is not an Enemy Skill. Yet, she manage to cast back the same thing to bugs much to her surprise. Also the mine has a lot of twist and turns, which made Kunsel's head spin. Also while exploring, they found a Mind Source which Riley drank half of it and left some for Mira. Strangely, it didn't taste horrible like how it was describe in fanfics. For her, it tastes like Adobo sauce and she wonders if fanfic writers compares the Sources to the saying about medicine in Earth… The nastier the medicine it taste, the quicker you get heal.

'Note: Different world, different concepts.' she thought as she stash the bottle in her pack and follows the group.

And then next thing they know, both parties meets again at the entrance and the mime notices something funny with her best friend.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked, looking concern on her.

The songstress looks at her and then sighing. "…Got hit by a Flamethrower." she said tiredly and it did made the mime worry on her again. "It's okay, I drank a potion already." stating with a weak smile.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine, Riley." she said and walks away from her. The mime watches as she manages to get Kunsel to talk with her privately and sighs.

"Is she really okay?" the brunette turns around and saw Tifa is also concern.

"Mira actually have an issue with fire." Riley confessed, with a scratch on the back of her head. Barret begins checking if he still got enough ammo, Yuffie goes to where Cloud's group went in search for treasure and Red just sits and listens instead.

"She does?"

"Yeah… this is why she does not use fire-related spells or anything relating on fire." then she looks at Cloud and Aerith. "Hey Cloudy, Aerith, a favor please?"

"It's Cloud." once more he glares at the mime for his silly nickname as the two ladies merely smile at it. "And what is it?"

"Can you help me ease up Mira's fear on fire, please?" with both hands clap together and bowing her head down slightly. Aerith stares at her for a moment, for that gesture reminds her of…

"But why us?" the blonde asked.

"You're a veteran when it comes to materias." pointing it out and then looks at the flower girl. "She's the best caster we got aside from you and Mira herself." then she looks at her best friend still talking to Kunsel. "Anyway, her fear is not that severe, she can go near a fire with a little distance but she can't handle fire is the real issue."

"She can't handle fire?" Tifa asked.

"Yeah… you should've seen her react on a simple match lighting." then she stops as the two walks back to them. "Let's discuss it later okay?" she shush them and looks back at the songstress who is looking a bit better than last time. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah…" her best friend replied as her breathing is normal. Seeing this, also made the mime relax a bit.

**:::^*^:::**

Once they found a new path out of the confusing twist and turns, they are about to enter the new area.

"Hey." Riley calls out to Kunsel and she walks a steady pace with the Ex-Second. "What did you and Mira talked about?" she asked.

At first he looks at the party, Cloud is at the front with Aerith and Tifa just behind him, Barret is next along with the songstress and ninja who are chatting, and behind is Red who's making sure no monster is following behind. He then looks back at the mime. "She's actually asking on how both of you can get Cloud to talk with privately about last night." he said.

"Ah right, we do want to tell him about that, but…" the mime looks at the bar maid and mutters mother-hen.

"Is it okay? Telling him that he had a nightmare?" he looks skeptical on the songstress' idea.

"Yeah… it's better confronting it then hiding it."

"But what if he couldn't accept that and breaks down?"

"Duh? Therapy? What do you think it means?" Riley deadpans at the Ex-Second.

"But are you sure?"

"Yeah, we can handle it, no problem." she quips with a wave. "What we need is-"

"Hey, there's a bald guy in the way!" the mime is cut off by Yuffie and the group snap their heads to the said bald man. The said man is not amuse on the ninja's outburst but he never shows it. The two girls then looks up to see Elena, on her position on the ledge and is observing them.

As they are about to pass him. "Just a second!" the bald man shouts at them and they stop.

"Who are you?" Tifa demanded.

"Um, Tifa, the suit?" the songstress points out as she have her hand wraps around the keytar's handle. "It's frankly a giveaway."

"A Turk." Riley stated as she takes out her dagger. 'Man… I'm missing those tonfas.' she thought sourly as she keeps an eye on the bald Turk.

"Well if you know, then this won't take long. It's difficult to explain what the Turks do…" Rude stated as he push back his glasses.

"Kidnapping, right?" Cloud points out

"Let's not forget assassinating Shinra's rival in both politics and business, terrorizing, turning blind eyes on horrific experiments, covering Shinra's nasty faults and… oh this is new for your resume, PLATE droppers!" the mime exclaims as she points her dagger at him.

"To put it negatively…you could say that. …But, that's not all there is to it, anymore." Rude stops for a moment and on cue…

"Sir!" their attention then shifts to the blonde woman on the ledge a bit high from them. "It's all right, Rude! I know you don't like speeches, so don't force it!" she shouts, the group, aside from Mira and Riley, didn't notice there is another Turk there.

"…Then Elena, explain."

"I'm the newest member of the Turks, Elena."

"Well… welcome to the group of highly effective but stupid cleaners of Shinra Electric Power Company." The songstress stated loudly and sounding sarcastic, as she cross her arms. "Make sure you pick up your mop and toilet cleaners once you're done here!"

Both Yuffie and Barret burst out laughing as Riley snickers on that, Kunsel and Tifa couldn't help but to smile as Cloud and Red looks amuse on the songstress comeback. The blonde woman, however, is not amuse and looks peeve on the ravenette.

"Thanks to what you did to Reno, we're short of people." then she turns away but they can hear it clearly. "…Although, because of that, I got promoted from intern to the Turks…"

'She was an intern?' both girls thought as they try to remember and Mira realizes that Elena was not suppose to join the Turks till Cloud and the others beat Reno on the support pillar.

'Ah, that's right… that explains why she got an ID from Shinra, she was a Turk-in-training before we beat the crap out of that redhead. At least, that explains how she entered that crappy job.' the songstress thought.

"In any case." the girls attention turns back to her. "Our job is to find out where Sephiroth is headed. And to try and step you every step of the way. Wait a minute, it's the other way around…" Everyone seems to resist face palming on that, as some raises their brow on the slip-up.

" …Elena. You talk too much." a familiar voice said and the group turns to see Tseng, walking in from the entrance of the mine.

"Sorry…Tseng." she apologizes, as a pink dust creeps on her face. Both girls saw it before the blonde Turk turns away to hide it.

"No need to tell them about our orders. Now go. Don't forget to file your report."

"Oh! Right! Very well, Rude and I will go after Sephiroth, who's heading for Junon Harbor!"

Once more, she earns another brow raising on that slip-up again. " …Elena. You don't seem to understand."

"Oh! I'm, I'm sorry…"

"…Go. Don't let Sephiroth get away."

"Yes sir!" both Rude and Elena salutes and left the scene, but the bald Turk stops for a moment and looks back at the group.

"…Reno said he wanted to see you after the injuries you gave him healed. He wants to show his affection for you all…with a new weapon." the stated and then left before the girls could even make a comeback on that one. Slightly miff that they miss making a comeback, both looks at Tseng who's looking at Aerith.

"Long time no see." he said, then he explains about her escape from Shinra, thanks to Sephiroth's reappearance.

"So are you saying that I should be thankful to Sephiroth?" the flower girl commented as her voice have a bit of venom in it.

"I'm happy to inform you that the president has cancelled the search for you." her eyes widens slightly on hearing that.

"… Strange, hearing that from you."

"Another ploy?" Cloud demanded as he moves to Aerith's front and arm with his sword, just in case the Turk does something.

"No, he honestly called it off. You're a free person, Aerith." and then he turns to the mouth of the mine, without looking back. "Well then, stay out of Shinra's way." and walks out of the mine.

'I swear Leon Kennedy is MUCH more cooler than him!' Riley thought as Cloud motions the group to climb the root. Then she remembers the Elixir and Hi-Potion in the next room and dashes there to get it. Once she got both items, she runs back to the others, just in time to see Barret helping Red up. Once everyone is up, they head down the path Tseng took and find themselves outside. The only sign that they encounter the Turks, is the tiny image of the helicopter on the sky before disappearing completely from sight.

"Junon… we better get moving." the blonde said.

"Uh… Before that, we should head to Fort Condor…" Mira suggested as she sniffs the group and steps away. Yuffie notices this and decides to take a whiff herself, the reaction is a total recoil as she backs away and waves her arms at her front.

"Gross! You guys stinks!" the ninja girl yelps as she quickly goes to the songstress' side, who smell less from the others. "Not to mention dirty!" she adds.

The group stares at them before they smell themselves, the reaction is almost close to Yuffie. They do stink and they just notice the mud, dirt and some plants cake on their clothes. Kunsel got the most mess because of the mud he landed during the Zolom fight and Barret is the one who mostly stinks.

'He smells like a pig!' Riley thought as she looks at her leather jacket as she takes it off. 'Ugh, getting rid of the smell on this will take some work! I hope the fort have leather cleaner or something.'

'I'm surprise that my limit break didn't even clean their clothes.' the songstress thought, as Aerith waves her jacket to get rid of the dirt that dried there and Tifa wring out her hair which also smells.. "So… Fort Condor?" she asked.

"But-" the blonde is cut off by the mime.

"Honestly, I know we can reach Junon before sun down, but due to the fight with the Zolom yesterday and our situation. I would rather have clean clothes on, rather entering the place like this." she stated as she wrings her jacket and sniffs it again. "Dude! Blegh!" she yelps and covers her nose.

"But none of us got clothes to change into." Aerith said and the teenagers, two 19 and one 16, looks back at her.

"Are you serious?" the mime asked, as her mind wonders on how the heck the characters survive on the same clothes in the game. "Didn't any of you bought any clothes or at least buy some in Kalm?" remembering that due to running away from Shinra, neither of them have pack clothes. Plus neither of the girls saw any of them buying clothes in Kalm.

"Not at all, we mostly bought items that are needed in battle." Tifa replied.

"But not clothes?!" the ninja girl just gawks. Judging by her reaction, at least she have experience and common sense on travel necessities which both Earth girls can agree on.

"Then what about the dresses you got in the Wall Market?" the songstress asked, the blonde Ex-SOLDIER slightly cringes when she mentions that and memories of unwanted experience came back. The mime notices his reaction and couldn't help but to quirk her lips, as she takes off her scarf and wring it.

"We dump them away." the bar maid answered as the ravenette looks at her for a moment before face-palming.

"Ladies and gentlemen, common sense has left the building." the mime mutters, they look at her as she pack the scarf and puts her jacket back on.

"You know, it wouldn't hurt to head there." Kunsel pipes in, as he is uneasy on the fact that he slept on dirty clothes and still wearing it. "Fort Condor is right over there." he then points at site where a huge bird is sitting there and watching over her egg.

Judging by the distance, it wouldn't take long for the group to get there. The Ex-Second mentions that the is anti-Shinra because the people there are protecting the huge condor and her egg. For them, it is a safe place and Cloud is convince to head there, but they'll only get a day rest and restock. By tomorrow, it's off to Junon.

For now, they head for Fort Condor.

**:::^*^:::**

'Fort Condor is a lot more bigger than the one in the game…but I guess it is explainable, considering the characters were chibified in the game.' the mime thought.

Arriving there, they met the guard of the place. Mira and Riley decided to talk to him since both Kunsel and Cloud are still in their SOLDIER uniform, well the latter is a modified one. The two have a chat with the guard as he mentions that he and his companions have been protecting the place from Shinra. He then asked them if they could assist them in their battle. Both girls agrees to help them since they have an agenda with the said company. With the man happy to earn extra help, he guides them into the fort.

"I thought we're going to have a day off from fighting?" Barret asked, as Kunsel climbs up the rope followed by Cloud.

"I know, but it's the only way to enter this place." the mime quips with a shrug, then pats on the black man's back. "Look on the bright side, it wouldn't be to boring as we take a break." as Yuffie climbs up deftly on the rope.

Barret lugs Red on his back and climbs up, then Tifa and Aerith goes next as Riley looks at her best friend, who's once more staring at the rope. "You know, we'll be probably be doing this in Cosmo Canyon." she whisper on her best friend's ears, causing her to slump before she drags herself to the only entrance of the place.

'As much as I dislike the rope, we all need a bath… badly!' the songstress thought as she hefts herself up to the fort.

Arriving to the top, there is some difference between this and the game… for one, there are more people. Not just the guard or the shop keepers, there are also mercenaries and hired guns who were paid for defending the place. Also the place is more of a snake-and-ladder maze, plus there's an infirmary which is not shown in the game. For the two girls, the added infirmary makes sense since the fort is fighting against Shinra, which will involve casualties. The ladder for the Inn and rooms are on one side, going down, and the other is for the shops, which is a climb up.

The group is then given a pair of rooms, one for the men and one for the women. The two Earth girls asked when is the battle going to happen… and it turns out that it will happen in a few hours, as their scouts spotted the Shinra army marching to it. The group are surprise that they're going to fight first before getting some rest, or even a bath to get rid of the filth on them. At first, they seem to doubt on coming to this place as a rest stop, aside from the two girls. But on hearing, their reason why they fight, they decided to aid them in the way they can.

Of course, the girls have a debate with the blonde who just want to leave and reach Junon soon. In the end, the girls wins.

Before the hour of the fight arrives, both girls looks around the fort as the group heads to their rooms. Riley climbs up the ladder to the item shop, there she sees the place similar to the game only wider in space. And she nearly whoop when she saw one thing that is not in the game and an added bonus for them: a thrift store that sells second-hand clothes. Taking a good look on them, most of the clothes seems familiar…

'Wait… I remember these! This are the trooper uniforms from Shinra!' the mime thought, then she notices the patches and modification on the rest of the articles. '… So they take clothes from dead troopers and modifies them… quaint…' she thought as she even spots a modified trooper helm with brow raise. She remembers a movie about a haunted second-hand item, but she shakes it off and begins her search for clothes for the party. Getting clothes for Cloud and Kunsel is an easy task, but she kept debating on what size Barret is. Due to the man's muscle and width, she doubt some of these recycled clothes fits him. Eventually, she manages to find a large jumpers for the black man, but she couldn't find any underwear…

"I guess they'll be going commando for a while, unless I could find some underwear under this pile." muttering as she continues to look for the said article.

Finding none, she then begins to look for some clothes for Aerith and Tifa. And so far, she only finds small, men shirts that can be acceptable for the two. It should seem that they'll be lending some clothes to the two. 'Aye, thank the Planet it gifted us clothes!' she thought. 'And the fact that we don't have to find Yuffie in the woods… at least, we won't have a problem with her about clothes… just the materia and our items.'

Once paying for the clothes, she then heads to various item shops to sell some items that they don't need.

Meanwhile, Mira heads down to the Inn and checks their rooms. Their rooms got four beds and a couch each, there is also a vent for air and closet to place their packs in. She smiled on the sight of the restroom, but almost rejoices on functional waterworks. She expected barrels and buckets of water considering that they built their base within the ground of the reactor. So it is a surprise for her to see an actual bathtub, although it is a bit small and made of wood. The songstress then heads out of the room and looks around once more, she then meets a resident of the place and asked if there is a laundry room.

'If there's an infirmary, there's got to be a laundry room to clean these clothes off.' she thought and her eyes seems to twinkle when the man points her to the direction of the said room. She briskly heads to where he directed her to, and a smile grace on her face on finding the room. There she is welcomed by a pair of washing machines on one side, a pair of dryers and iron on the other and a shelf full of detergent. She mentally whoop and is thanking to the fact that the fort have the necessities they need.

Still the songstress wonders on why Square did not bother showing these in the game, though.

As she looks at the machines and thinking that it functions with the mako, an alarm blares to life. The songstress quickly dashes out of the room, getting a little lost on the way back to the party. Getting up from the hole, she then sees her best friend climbing down the ladder… with a huge package on her left arm.

"Mira! Riley! We better get ready!" Tifa calls the two as she comes in and then notices the package on the mimes arms. "What's that?"

"Clothes, but most of them are for the men. Mira and I will be lending you some clothes for now and get those wash." Riley explains, as she looks at the not-so white tank top of the bar maid.

Accepting the reason, the bar maid tells her to place the clothes in their rooms and hurry up. The brunette then dash down to their room as the ravenette follows Tifa to the top floor of the fort.

**:::^*^:::**

The fight is not that hard and it's not even sweat breaking, when the party have a status-effect caster which places the enemies to sleep and hasten allies. Cloud and Kunsel quickly slashed the beasts down, Barret and Riley takes down the wyverns, Tifa and Red brings back any injured allies, and Aerith and Mira are support and first aid. Yuffie, on the other hand, merely runs around, throwing her shiruken at nearby enemies to distract them and looting items with much glee.

'Yep… that's Yuffie for ya.' Riley thought with a shake from her head, as she drinks an ether and cast Mantra Magic.

It's a quick victory and the guard cheers at the easy win, but then he slumps when he learns that they'll be leaving for Junon tomorrow.

But the two girls pats his back and tells him that as they travel, they mess the damn company a little. That cheers him a bit as he heads down for a celebration booze.

Climbing down to their rooms, Yuffie quickly calls dibs on taking the first bath with the mime shouting to let the one who really stinks go first. It was too late, when they hear the bathroom door slams shuts and hears the water running. Sighing at this, the mime heads out to find something to clean her jacket as Mira takes out the shirts for Tifa and Aerith. Once she sorts out the clothes the girls will be wearing, she then picks up the rest and heads to the other room. Once she arrives, she knocks on the door and it wasn't long for Cloud to answer.

"Hey, got something to change after you guys clean up." the songstress stated as she gives the clothes to him. "Oh, and there's no underwear... sorry." with a shrug.

"… Thanks." he said but she didn't leave. She looks at him as if he's a puzzle she wants to solve. "Is there something wrong?" he asked as he notices something else… is her green eyes sparkling or something?

"Nothing, I'm just wondering if you're okay." she stated.

"… I'm fine." he said with a assuring tone.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Why do you asked?"

There is silence for a moment and they just stood there, both of them neither moving or uttering another sound. As time pass around them, both individuals notices something from one another. Mira looks at the blonde's blue eyes that still burns with Mako, thanks to a certain fruit-loop. She tries to look for any sign of his original personality in them, but came up blank… Then she caught a fleeting shine in his eyes and tries to find it again.

But it is gone for now. 'Could that be…?' she thought, as unknowingly Cloud is also looking at her.

The blonde sees the twinkles in her green eyes once more, but that's not all… Her eyes have wisdom and knowledge in them, along with secrets which he doubt she'll tell. Yet they also tell that she is honest and caring.

"Yo Spiky! Who's at the door!" Barret's shouts broke their trance, the blond looks back in the room as the songstress turns to hide the pink dust that have painted itself on her cheeks.

"Uh… right." the songstress coughs a bit and looks back at Cloud. "Once you finish taking a bath, please give your dirty clothes to me and Tifa to be wash, okay?"

"Sure…" he said, then returns into the room and shuts the door. Once the door is completely close, Mira just slap herself on the face and reacts like any teenager spazzing and scolding herself.

'Don't do a Fushigi Yuugi, Mira! DON'T DO IT!' she mentally berates her herself, as her mind does a headless chocobo race in her head. She quickly get rid of the blush and scrambles back to the girls' room.

The ninja girl is officially finish and plops down on her bed, her dirty clothes are dump in a basket and Aerith took her turn. Also she is chatting with Tifa, as Riley who's back spreads out her jacket on the couch. She then cleans it with a soft cloth, hand soap, a mix of water and vinegar and an extra rag with a leather cleaner and conditioner just beside her. The mime looks quite happy to find the latter pair of items from the shops. The brunette then looks up when her friend enters back into the room… and looks more disturb than the usual. Seeing that, she briskly wipe her jacket and hangs it to dry before applying the cleaner and conditioner. She reminds herself to do the gloves later as she walks to the songstress' side on her bed.

"Hey… what crawled on your back?" she asked and the songstress looks at her and then sighs. She takes a quick look on the other occupants of the room and motions the mime to come close. The brunette leans in to listen but her best friend recoils back on the smell, she gives her light hit on her shoulder on that. Once the songstress regains fresh air, she once more motions her best friend and explains what happen a moment ago.

… Only to realize that telling her is a bad idea.

The mime's mouth forms a silly grin the songstress knows too well.

"Riley, get that grin off your face… NOW!" Mira hissed.

"What grin?" the mime asked amusingly and giggles is starting to bubble in her.

"Riley…" but the brunette's grin didn't falter and the songstress quickly stands to get rid of it. However, the mime quickly sense it coming and have bolted to the other side of the room. "Damn it, get back here! You damn energizer bunny!"

"Make me, ya spoony bard!" the mime cheerfully stated and a chase ensues, both Tifa and Yuffie watches the two do the cat-and-mouse chase around the room. It wasn't long before the songstress caught her by jumping on her back. Due to the fact that Riley is the strongest from the two, all the ravenette can do is weight her down and mess up her hair. "Wah! She got me!"

"Riley!" then the two yelps when the mime lost her balance and both fell on a bed. The mime laughs at this as the songstress hits her shoulder, with a small smile.

"Ow! Oh come on!"

"Are you two… okay?" the bar maid asked as the two looks her and the mime tries to ease her laughing.

"Yeah, we're cool." the mime stated and ruffles her best friend's head. "Just messing around."

"Hey!" the songstress tries to swat her hand off, only to miss and presume messing her hair again. But, instead of aiming for the hand, she decided to push the mime off the bed and successfully does so.

"Ow! Man, you're mean!" And in response the songstress sticks out her tongue. "Aye! Yuffie, give me a hug to feel better!" Riley said childishly.

"Wha! Gross! No way! You haven't taken a bath yet!" the teenage ninja exclaims and backs away from her.

"Fine, I'll go hug Tifa then. At least we both stink." she then quickly hugs the bar maid before she could even say anything. Then she quickly let go and looks at her. "Dang it, why are yours boobs are HUGE? It makes mine inferior." as she pats her front, the bar maid's face lit up like a red lantern as the ninja girl can't help to laugh on that.

"That's it, I'm taking your snacks away." the songstress stated calmly, which the mime quickly turns back to her and pleads childishly not to take it away… and that's what Aerith saw after she came out clean and fresh from the bathroom.

**:::^*^:::**

Golden white, with hints of color spectrum is all in view.

The feeling is a bit familiar….

Sensing so many presence and seems to be united for one cause.

Many memories flows by… happy ones, sad ones… all of them flowing along the prism view.

Suddenly, something stops…

Looking around, wondering why it stop…

Then pain came…

Hearing moans and cries…

But couldn't bother on stopping the pain.

Instead, wonders why they're hurting the one who care for them…?

**:::^*^:::**

'What the heck was that?' she thought, as she rubs her head from the strange dream. Looking around, she sees the others fast asleep even her best friend next to her. Feeling that she needs air, she yanks her covers away, takes her newly washed gray hoodie and puts it on over her black shirt. She then carefully sneak out of the room and climbs up the ladder, she then heads to the entrance. She did not bother bringing the dagger since she got some Enemy Skills and miming abilities to scare off monsters, just in case.

Once her foot reaches the ground, she walks out and breathes the fresh air. Looking up the night sky, she wonders if their families are also looking at them…

'… this situation reminds me of Kingdom Hearts… one sky…' she thought, as she looks at the stars and tries to find something relating to Earth. She only remembers a pair of constellations back in Earth: Orion and Pleiades, but in Gaia… they don't exist at all.

She then sighs and looks down. 'I guess we're quite far from home…' she thought.

"Miss traveling?" a familiar voice asked.

Turning around, she saw the least person she expected…

The one she promised to herself to rescue…

"Sephiroth!"

And a smile forms on his face.

* * *

><p>Silver: Le gasp! A wild Sephiroth appears! (runs away from being hit by a Masamune). Anyway, we learn something from Mira, the group needs hygiene since it's not a game anymore, Riley just like to mess around… and she dreams something weird… I am happy with this chapter, although some parts are not in the script, I'm still ha-pi... Don't forget my BREAD AND COFFEE! For those who don't know... Review please!<p> 


	20. Too Young to Be

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird does not own Final Fantasy 7 or the songs that are in this story, only her OCs and her plot… Otherwise, we might end up having a not-so-epic battle with the lawsuits.)

_**Altering Rhythm**_

_**Too Young to be…**_

Silver: I need a job… badly… because I need money for the Anime con coming this September! By the way, how many "Too young to be…" can you find in this chapter. Find all, you get a cyber cookie!

* * *

><p><strong>Too Young to be…<strong>

"_It's silly to be scared."_

**:::^*^:::**

Yawning, she stretches her arms up and cracks some stiff joints. Mira then notices something out of place…

'Wait… Riley is up this early?' the songstress thought, noticing the lack of the other occupant of her bed. She knows her best friend's antics and usually she is up before the mime is. Once she cleans up and puts on her traveling outfit back, she then makes a quick check on the packs. Since Yuffie is officially with them, both girls have to be on high alert and watch their materias.

She does a quick count on her materias, minus the ones she released from confined forms… she soon notices that she is missing a Tri-Thundaga materia. 'Wait… There's supposed to be three of them, did Yuffie took it.' She thought.

Looking back at the sleeping ninja girl, she quickly checks on others' bags and the ninja's pack itself. But nothing seems out of place and the Tri-Thundaga is not in the ninja's pack. Then she silently looks for it in Yuffie's bed, but nothing… the said materia is truly missing.

Speaking of missing, she sighs and decided to put the search on hold and quietly heads out to find the brunette.

It wasn't hard to find her, she immediately spots her on one of the tables and chairs, in the empty lobby of the fort. Her head is down on the wooden table and she is still wearing the black shirt, gray hoodie, dark blue Capris and the boots. Thinking that her best friend took a walk last night and then slept there, she walks towards her and shakes her to wake up.

"Hey, did you-" but she cut off and retracts her hand back, when suddenly the mime yells a very loud 'WHY!' before her head falls back on the table. Surprise and clueless on her reaction, the songstress sense something is disturbing her and goes off to make coffee for the two of them.

Another thing that Square did not bother to place in the game is the kitchen. Most mercenary and hired guns are allowed here, but they must cook their own food for the stock room is nowhere to be seen. If they want to eat but not cook or they don't have any stocks, they have to pay for it. However, water, coffee and biscuits are free of charge and anyone can have it.

Once the water is hot enough, she pours it into two paper cups with two tablespoons of coffee in them. She then puts some sugar and mixes it, but miffs on the lack of milk. 'Well… in this situation, beggars can't be choosers.' she thought, as she throws the plastic stick in the trash, picks the cups and heads back. She then place one of the coffee in front of the mime and takes a seat beside her. Once more, she shakes her best friend awake, this time she sees the coffee and drags the cup near her. As they drink their caffeine, none of the two talks as Mira takes another look on her.

'She looks like a drench cat who is not too happy about getting wet.' she thought, as the mime stares on the half-full cup and she looks like in a trance. '… Okay… better do it now.'

"Riley… what's wrong?" but her best friend didn't respond and then pinches her cheek.

"Ow!"

"Riley!"

"Ouch… Mira, you're here?" and the songstress resist face-palming on her friend's lack of attention.

"Riley, what's wrong with you?" asking again, this time the mime looks at her before looking back in her coffee.

"I took a walk last night." she confessed, as she fiddles with her cup.

"And?"

"Promise not to freak out?"

"Promise." as she hold up her hand as a sign.

"… Last night, I was looking at the stars, trying to find familiar ones that we see back on Earth. And…" she pauses for a while and fiddles her cup again. The songstress waits for her to make an answer and encourages her to say it. "I… met Sephiroth last night."

'Oh… wait, WHAT?' she thought and immediately grabs her best friend, looking over her if she got injuries or anything. "Are you okay? How did you get out of that?"

"It… complicated."

"Don't tell me he sexually harassed you."

"I wish." the mime stated flatly and gives the songstress a look. "It's more than that." The songstress coaxes her to tell what happen and once Riley feels a little brave, she narrates what happened…

**:::^**_Last night…_**^:::**

She is shocked…

She does not expect to meet the former general this soon.

She knows that they'll meet again in the ship which they'll sneak into in Junon.

But then her mind immediately alerted her of her situation and jumps away from the former general as if she was shocked by a Thunder spell. She puts her arm back and ready to cast a spell in case he does something funny.

"Don't be alarmed." he stated, his cool stare looks right back at the mime's glare.

Then… she hears the painful noise again, the same one in her dreams. But the noise is lower in volume than the one in her dream, so it is bearable as she keeps an eye on him. And for some reason… she can hear a tiny cry amongst them before it blends and fade within the noise.

"Can you hear her?"

She looks at him quizzically.

"She's calling you."

She knew who he is pointing at and snorts at that. Still she wonders why that freaky being is calling her, not to mention the noise… 'Where is it coming from?' as she looks at her situation. Right now, she doubts that she can run back into the fort, if she does he will turn the place into a massacre site. Running away is another option, but she got nowhere to hide and Sephiroth is a SOLDIER. No doubt she cannot outrun the man, due to his enhancement.

'Another reason to punch that fruit-loop on the face!' she thought viciously and fighting him is definitely out of the list. 'Dang it… running it is. At least I can get him away from the others, I hope…'

When Sephiroth moves towards her, the mime quickly casts Matra Magic on him. She knows that he can easily avoid them and quickly makes her escape, before he can bounce back after her. But it is no effect… As soon as she cast the spell and turn tail, he's in front of her before the spell could even make a hit on him. And due to the short distance, she unexpectedly runs into him with his arms wide open. Surprise and a blush forms on her face as the former general holds her close, yet her mind is screaming that he is going to bloody murder her.

"Let go!" she yelps and tries to get out of his grip. But she couldn't get out, much less slip away from him.

Now the noise is louder…

"Why do you believe such lies from them?" he asked.

"Excuse me?!" she snaps and looks at him straight with a glare. Their eyes locks and she sees… despite the glow, his eyes are empty, glass-like…

Similar to a manikin.

Once more, she struggles her way out and manages to hit him on the chin with her right knuckle. She demands again for letting her go as she kicks wildly and occasionally hits his shins. Eventually, he does and she scrambles away from him, putting much distance and arming herself with another spell to cast.

Still she ignores the noise as it slowly raises it's volume.

But he does not bother with her behavior and remembering what Mother told him… "You are very important to Mother…" he once more reaches for her.

She is ready to cast Matra Magic again… when the noise grows louder than before and is giving her a migraine, thus her focus is loosing.

"Try to remember." the silver general stated as he moves towards her…

'Is he just standing while moving?' the mime thought, as she sees the silver man nears without moving his legs or even float. She winces once more as the noise turns high pitch and the pain on her head increases.

"What they did."

Riley couldn't take it anymore, the noise has completely become piercing and unbearable and the pain in her head is making her dizzy.

"To you."

The noise became high pitch screams and wails of rage and hate, her view of the world shakes as if there is an earthquake happening. She quickly covers her ears to block it, but it couldn't block the noise...

They're inside her head.

"_It hurts! It hurts!"_

"_I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"_

"_Don't take me! AH!"_

"_So Cold…"_

"_Get me out! Please! Get me out of here!"_

"_YOu dId ThiS!"_

"_YoU uNGratEfUL fOOls!"_

Then the words become jumbled and mix as more voices shout and wails together. Unable to take anymore, she collapses and before hitting the ground, Sephiroth caught her. Before her world blackens… she takes one more look at the general's eyes.

Fury… Hatred… And coldness are now in it…

But for some reason… those feelings are not his.

"Mama… please go back and reunite with Mother soon."

That is the last thing she heard from him before she completely shuts down.

**:::^**_Present time_**^:::**

Then she told her that she woke up by the rope-entrance of the fort… and Sephiroth is gone. And then there is silence and if you release a pin, that will be the only noise you'll ever hear.

"Are. You. Serious?" the songstress asked out of shock, as she stares at her best friend incredulously and mouth open. "He called you… mama?"

"Yes! He told me that I should meet and reunite with the freaky alien scum! Yeah right!" the mime spazzes and drops her head on the table again. "Of all things to happen to me, being related to an alien that destroys planets is not in my list! And I'm too young to be a mother of a deceased 25-year-old man!"

Mira is still in shock and could not believe that her best friend and a fellow Earthling like her, is related to Jenova. What's different from Sephiroth's and Cloud's situation, is that for some reason, the brunette is on equal terms with the extraterrestrial being since the former general called her 'mama'. Totally stunned at this, her mind then begins thinking of what will happen to the two of them… her first thought is that they'll be enemies one day, considering who they represent: Mira with Minerva and the Planet, while Riley with Sephiroth and Jenova.

She quickly shakes that first thought away and mentally slap herself in such thought. 'She's my best friend! There is no way she's going to flip to the dark side!' she thought.

Her second thought is that Riley is going to commit suicide because she's related to a planet destroyer. Once more a mental slap and her mind scold her for that thought. Another is being Sephiroth's bride… 'Oi! She's already been labelled as a mom! Geez!' her mind berates her.

Riley then lifts her head up and notices a certain look on her best friend. "Meer… mind out of the gutter please." she stated and the songstress snaps out of her thought. "What are you thinking?"

"Sorry… hearing that… you know." she points out as she shrugs and looks at her friend with concern.

The brunette sighs and rubs her head. "This is a nightmare." she groans before literally slapping herself, much to the songstress' surprise. "NO! No! Think positive girl! Think positive!"

"Riley? Are you feeling okay?" the songstress asked, she looks around a bit and thankfully the lobby is still empty. "Are you under the influence of Jenova?"

"If I were in the influence of that freak, I would've eaten Earth back then and go all whack."

"Um, trapped in a human body?"

"Then a psychotic killer."

Mira shakes her head and swat the back of the mime's head, which she yelps in response. "Git yer head back screwed and think clear!" she hissed and then crosses her arms. Riley winces that the sore head and then sulk a bit, before her shoulders raise back up and eyes widen a bit. "What's wrong?"

"Well dang flabbit, I didn't realize it sooner." Riley scolded herself and looks at the songstress. "This could be my chance to save Sephiroth!"

"What do you mean?"

"Duh, since I'm connected to the alien, so is Sephiroth!" she then grabs her shoulder. "I could give him back his humanity."

The songstress thinks about it, and she thinks that the mime is right on to her goal. With the link between her and Jenova, it might be possible to save the general from it…

But…

"Yeah, but there's a problem…" and the mime looks at her. "Jenova, I doubt she'll let you do that. You'll both be doing a psychological ping-pong war rather having a mental tea-drinking session."

"True… dang it, and she even used him to get me." The mime groans and head desks. "That's probably where I got my miming skills from."

The songstress pats her head and quickly finishes her not-so-warm coffee, then throws it away. "Weird." the songstress mutters, and the mime raises her head.

"What is it?"

"Jenova is linked to you, right? So why would she send Sephiroth instead of talking to you herself?" pointing it out and her best friend sits up straight, thinking about that… Then Riley remembers her first encounter with it and it's comment.

"_Yet... that is in the way."_

"I think I know why…" and looks at her. "I don't know, but there is something that blocks her from acquiring me."

"Then because of that…"

"She sends him after me… Great…" and once more slumps on the table. The girls then decided to continue with the topic next time, when a person or two climbs into the lobby to get coffee. Riley heads back to the room to change into her traveling clothes, while Mira also heads there to get their stocks and cook breakfast.

**:::^*^:::**

Once everyone is up and full, they get ready to head for Junon.

Before that, the girls make one last check on their inventory and then head to the shops. As they buy a few Ethers for magic, Riley spots something… that will make any artist their day.

Notebooks and pencils.

Seeing this, she almost let out a squeal and takes a pair of notebooks and some pencils, dumping them in with the rest of the items they're buying. Packing all of the bought items, they head back to the party as Kunsel does a head count.

'What are we kindergarten?' both girls thought as they shift their pouches and then the mime notices something on it. Looking on hers, she notices a gem sewn at the bottom of the pouch. 'It's a miracle that it didn't chip off during in battles.' she thought.

"All right, there will be another change in the grouping." Kunsel announces, which earns a groan from Barret.

"Another one?" he asked.

"We're heading for Junon, me and Cloud agreed to switch party members for safety precaution." Kunsel explains as the others fixes the strap of their satchel and pouch.

"Well… it makes sense. Junon is another base of Shinra." The songstress points out. "Which means that place is crawling with troopers and probably some SOLDIERs."

"But wouldn't it make sense to go there together?" Tifa asked.

"Actually, Tifa, the larger the group, the higher chance someone would alert Shinra and sic on us. However, if we arrived there in smaller and split groups, with some time-spacing between us, the lesser the suspicion, and likely we can blend in before the next group arrives." Riley explains, as she checks her dagger before sheathing it. "Dang it, I miss the tonfas…" she whined.

"Then why did you throw it away?" her best friend asked.

"It got bent after hitting the Zolom with it."

"Oh…"

"Then why don't you buy the ones in the shops?" Aerith asked.

"Their quality sucks."

"Back to the point." Cloud pipes in and they snap their attention to the blonde. "Kunsel will take Aerith and Yuffie. Barret will take Red and Tifa, and I will take Mira and Riley. My group will be the first to head out, followed by Barret and then Kunsel."

The girls froze for a bit and looks at the blonde… did they hear it right, did Cloud got them for his party, allowing them to talk with him privately…?

Then they felt a hand upon their shoulders, and they snap their attention to the Ex-Second behind them. "I manage to get him to change party, so good luck on helping him, okay?" he whispers to them, before he heads to his own group. Both girls grin at this and quickly walks to the blonde's side. After checking their stocks and equipment, Cloud, Mira and Riley are the first to head off for Junon.

**:::^*^:::**

Hissing…

The strings tugs again…

Once more, yanks it away out of reach.

**:::^*^:::**

"Kunsel…" Aerith called and the Ex-Second looks back at the flower girl, as Yuffie marches cheerily to Junon. Unknown to them, she is plotting a way to get all off their materias. However, right now, she acts as if she's a hyper teenager with a habit of collecting treasures.

Kunsel's party left the fort after an hour wait and trekking toward the said city. And as they head there, Yuffie attempted to strike a conversation between the two, but it didn't last and is now marching ahead of them.

"Do you think Cloud is strange…?" she asked.

"Well… Cloud is a first class, so he's my superior despite the age, he's not that expressive and tends to head right into the problem without a plan." He explains. 'Like a certain puppy I know.' he thought. Mira and Riley told him that he has to cover Cloud a bit as they try to recover his memories and find out what really happen in his perspective. Furthermore, they want to avoid letting Aerith or even Tifa know about Cloud's friendship with Zack, lest provoke another breakdown. Kunsel is skeptical on that and would rather let the two in the loop with Cloud's recovery. However, the two insists on keeping it to the three of them. The less one knows a secret, the better. "But, to me, he seems to care despite all of his bravado."

The flower girl giggles at this and continues to walk… "Then… what do you think of Mira and Riley?"

"Those two?" he asked and she nodded. "Well… Mira seems to be kind and more mature than her friend Riley, whose childish and impulsive at times. However, in battles... well, Riley is the strongest of the two."

"Really?"

"Yeah… why ask?"

"Well… there's something off on those two…"

And the Ex-Second looks at her. 'Did she caught in the fact that they are witnesses on Zack's death?' he thought and asked. "Off…?"

"Ah no… it's nothing." she reassures him and shakes her read.

It seems she decided not to tell him that there is something strange on the two. Since the Planet warns her to be on guard on one, and it falls silent to the one they accepted.

**:::^*^:::**

"Dooby dooby doo-bah!"

"Dooby dooby doo-bah!"

"Dooby dooby doo-bah!"

"Dooby dooby doo-bah!"

"Riley! Knock it off!" and the mime falls face-first on the grass ground, on losing her focus during her hand-walk.

"Fwab wit!" the mime mutters as she gets her head off the ground, the blonde stops and stares at them.

"Is she… always like this?" Cloud asked, as the said city is in view.

"I consider lasting nine years with her as an amazing feat, Cloud." the songstress deadpans. She reminds herself of buying new equipments for the party once they get up on the city above.

"Hey!" the mime protest and jumps back up, similar to what Zack does. "That is really mean." She pouts.

"Sorry, you just haven't matured yet."

The mime yelps at her again and her best friend laughs a bit, the blonde looks on this with slight amusement… and a strange nostalgic warmth in him. He then wonders when he felt this before… 'That is… odd… why do I feel something like this?' he thought, as he places his hand on his heart.

"_Me and Cloud are both backwater experts! Oh yeah!"_

'What?' he then looks around and only sees the two playfully bickering. 'It can't be them… the voice sounds like a male…'

"By the way… do you remember anything that night after the Zolom thing?" Riley asked the blonde, and he snaps his attention to them.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well… something happened that night." Mira points out sheepishly with a shrug, now both girls have to carefully lead this conversation in the right direction. She looks at the mime, who then nods to her before looking back to the blonde. "You had a nightmare and screamed that night." She confessed.

"What…?" he asked as he looks at them strangely, the two then narrates on what happen that night. Once they finished telling him about it… "I shouted that…?"

"Yeah, you screamed to give you back your mom, Tifa and your hometown and then thrashed on your mat. It took Kunsel and Tifa to calm you down… Still I'm amused at how you manage to kick Barret though." Riley confirms it and the blonde tries to remember what he dreamed about. Unfortunately, he couldn't recall any of it and looks at the two.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah, although most of the party will deny you having such nightmare, Kunsel can confirm that."

"Wait… why would they deny me on having a nightmare?"

Then both girls look at one another and their foot shuffles, before looking back at him. The girls told him that after his episode, some of the party became wary of him. They look unsure if he's gone off the deep end or leading them on a wild goose chase for a dead man. Blue eyes look at the two girls for any sign to lies on them, but judging by their faces and their body language… he groans and face palms, they are telling the truth. He had a nightmare that night and he doesn't remember. It frustrates him because it made the others wary of him.

Not to mention, it made him look weak… how can he face Sephiroth when he is starting to have mental problems now.

"Cloud." he then looks at the two, who are looking back at him with concern. "Can you try to remember what you dream about, and tell us what it is… we might help."

"No, no, I… I can handle…" as he looks away.

"Cloud." the songstress snaps at him and he turns to the songstress, who have her hands at her waist and looking at him like any stern mother will do. She reminds him about what they talk back in the Sector 5 bombing and the mime turns away and hides her giggles. Both look at her, who shrugs in return and whistles.

"Aren't you a little-"

"Don't give us that excuse, Cloud."

Cloud looks at the two, seeing they are serious about having this talk cause it might help him. He then looks at Riley and points at her, he doubts the brunette can shut her mouth.

"Hey!" the mime protested.

"She can keep a secret, Cloud. Trust her." Mira vouches for her best friend.

Sighing at this, he tries once more to remember that night.

Blurry images form in his mind, it slowly clears… but then something hits his forehead like being hit by a hammer hard. He winces on the migraine he got and stumbles a bit, the girls notice this and asked if he is okay. He waves it off as he rubs his forehead, but again he stumbles and the girls are quickly at his side.

"I only remember a pair of images… of my dream." He winces as he rubs his head.

"Really? Can you describe it?" The mime asked as she helps him balance.

"A man in a red coat. And two people, one is a dying man while the other is a silhouette weeping with… my sword in its hand."

Both girls are taken aback on this one. He's beginning to remember Genesis and Angeal. Two former First who left Shinra because of their degrading status, thanks to another nut job who more into beating the fruit-loop. Thanks to the nut job, as the two girls think, he needs more suffering because of what he did to the two, Sephiroth loses his only two known friends who he can also consider as brothers.

And without those two, the general has sunk under the sea of madness.

Back to the point, Cloud seems to remember them but does not know them fully. He then remembers something about the images… one of the two men, is wearing a SOLDIER uniform and that man is a First Class due to its color.

"That… man…" He slowly said as his headache steadily fades. "He's wearing a First Class SOLDIER uniform." and then looks at the two girls. "… Do you know any other Firsts besides me?"

They then look at one another and think… "Actually… there are other Firsts before you." The mime points it out as the Ex-SOLDIER can stand on his own. "We do happen to know a bit on the them since they came from our hometown."

"They are Genesis Rhapsodos, the one you describe as the man in a red coat, and Angeal Hewley, the man who wears the uniform." Mira said as the blonde rubs his head.

Somehow his nightmare showed him this… could by chance have met them before? Still, it bothers him that the silhouette had his sword… could it be him weeping on the dying First? "Can you tell me more about them?" he asked… but by the tone, the two swore he somewhat demands.

"Well, the fact that they came from Banora like us, from some rumors the two became friends with Sephiroth." They then notice how the blonde tense on mentioning the former general. They told him a brief story about the two abandoning Shinra, Genesis was the first to go with quite a handful of 3rds and 2nds, after that Angeal soon followed and left the company. A few months later, Shinra announced that both Firsts were KIA along with the other rogue SOLDIERs. "Unfortunately, the company didn't mention how they got rid of the two. Even so, since the company owns the paper…" the mime stated with a shrug.

The blonde nodded at this and digest the new information he learns today… Apparently, there were other Firsts before him, and they also came from the same hometown where Mira and Riley came from. Gone rogue with one taking a platoon of 3rds and 2nds, and then suddenly they were labeled KIA a few months after by Shinra. He rubs his head on his, still he doesn't know why he couldn't remember the other two. His first guess was he wasn't in SOLDIER when the two left, it's explainable. The next is Shinra is quite good at hiding it from public… like they always do.

Still, he can't help wondering why he dreamed about them.

"You really, don't know anything about them?" Mira asked with concern.

"No… not at all." He replied.

"Not even-" but the songstress is cut off when they feel the ground shaking. "Why is-" once more she is cut off when Riley suddenly pushes her and Cloud out of the way, and then a loud roar follows.

"What the crap is THIS?" Riley yells as she avoids the tail and attracts its attention to herself. Of all monsters they could face, a Behemoth King is the worst right now. The beast is level 40+ in the game, and they… they could guess that they are about 10+ in level, but that is not enough to beat a monstrosity like this. 'We're too young to be fighting this crap! Oh wait, that's low level…' she thought as she flips away from the claw.

"Damn it! Strike it down!" the blonde shouts, as he gets up and is about to charge at the beast.

"NO! Don't strike it down!" Both Mira and Riley shout at him, as the mime casts Matra Magic to distract the monster and the songstress scrambles up.

"What?!"

"It's a Behemoth King! That monster is way out our league! Especially you!" The mime points out as she keeps avoiding the attacks and dashes away a little. "Sweet nibblets! Mira, sing this thing to sleep!"

The songstress quickly fumbles with her keytar and immediately plays Lullaby. It took quite long, due to the monster's stubbornness and its magic, but they manage to put him to sleep. As the beast snores, Riley quickly runs back to the two and to see if they are okay.

Sighing in relief, she then looks at the huge yellow beast. "How the heck this beast is here? If I remember correctly from Uncle Ray, they only hunt around in the Northern Continent." She points out, and the songstress pulls out a potion from her pouch.

"Fruit-loop?" Cloud asked.

"Hojo." both girls replied. Looking at the beast, it could be plausible, considering that the crazy scientist would use any dangerous specimens for his experiment. The girls then discuss about their way of torturing the fruit-loop before sending him to his death, when a very stiff sound is heard… like a knife piercing to a lechon-

Both girls turn back on the monster quickly and saw Cloud have killed the Behemoth King, by stabbing it right in the heart as it sleeps. The beasts snort on feeling the sharp strike, but didn't wake up and snorts again when the blade is yank out.

"Cloud! What the heck are you doing?" the mime shrieks in shock as the songstress is also shock at this too. Seeing the blonde kill the beast while it is out for the count… while for some is a more effective to get rid of danger, for the girls it seems to be… not right. Even if they have a fair share of monsters they have beaten, the girls can't help to feel a bit let down on this and slightly uneasy. For them, they want to battle the beast again once they are on a leveled playing field or with enough experience.

… Probably, a little about animal rights in this issue too.

"I'm getting rid of the Behemoth." The blonde stated, as he then slices to open its stomach and spews out its contents and items it had eaten. Apparently, the only item he can find among the spew is the X-Potion. "Also, would you let this thing roam around and go after the others?"

Both girls would say he is right, but they would also protest on finding other solutions. But seeing the beast slowly dying, it is kind of too late on voicing their opinion as the blonde sheathes his blade.

They then head to Junon. But before the girls do follow him, they give the beast a quick prayer and the mime spots a Phoenix Down in its mane. Once she pockets the item, they quickly tail after the blonde before he even notices that they are quite behind.

**:::^*^:::**

Arriving at Junon, both girls reminded the area of the squatters' area back in their world. It is a little bigger and got a few streets, but seems to be short like you can see the dead end just two to three houses away. There are some houses that are made from bricks, but some of them have plywood on the exterior walls. As if they can't repair the thin-wood covered areas, and does a flimsy job of hiding it. In addition, there are clothes hanging on the clothing line right at the front and an occasional mattress too. If there is one thing that differentiates from this town and their home… is the smiles. In their home, people smile because it is their only strength to get thru hardships. Here people are not ashamed to show how poor and depress they are. They guess the people above thinks of the bottom nothing more than pathetic.

"What happen to this town? It's so… run down." Cloud states after looking at the town for the first time.

"A bad government management." Riley snorted as the blonde heads into town to find what he's looking for.

"Wow, this reminds me of the informal settlers area… but this is more depressing than back at home." Mira states, feeling the sadness around the area.

"I have to agree." the mime quip. "… But on the bright side, what least they don't live in a overcrowded country."

Her best friend nods at this and they split up to talk to some people. As Riley heads into a shop to sell some items once more. 'Come to think of it… we haven't counted the gils since we started this journey. Once the others are here, I'm going to convince Tifa with an inventory check.' she thought, as she enters the store.

Meanwhile, Mira walks around a bit and asking a few people, which one of them sounds not too happy. She can sense the bitter and sad tone in them, not to mention that the conversation is mostly short. Feeling awkward about this situation, she decided to head for the beach and wait for the other two there.

Arriving there, she sees the said high voltage tower and the electricity sparking off it. 'They are not much into safety… and environmental sanitation.' she thought, seeing the grey beach and pieces of metal around. She really doubts that the gray beach is grey sand or soot mix with the sand. Shaking her head, she walks down the steps and sits on the base of the steps.

She decided to give the keytar another look as she waits for the incoming battle, when she almost yelp out loud… the ghost of the dead Behemoth King is right in front of her. As she calms her racing heart and set her instrument for a moment. "Will you mind?" she hissed and the beast's head tilts slightly. "Just get out of my sight and stop following us."

The beast tilts its head on the other side and she face palms at this.

Then…

She quickly stands up and looks around, before scratching her head. "That's weird… I thought I heard someone laugh." before sitting back down and attempts to shoo the decease monster away.

But a moment later "Excuse me." the songstress then turns to meet a little girl. Judging by her height, she looks like around 10 to 12, slightly tan skin and wears a yellow tank top, red shorts and red slippers. "Who are you?"

"Oh, sorry, I'm a traveling songstress, me and my friends just came from this town to re-supply" Mira replied with a smile.

"A songstress? Someone who sings and perform in bars?" she asked.

"Yes, and we don't sing in bars, we sing on stage." the songstress quickly corrected her.

"Oh sorry… um, do you want to meet Mr. Dolphin?" hoping that she would take it as an apology.

"Mr. Dolphin?"

"Yeah, he's my friend who lived in the sea!" as she points at the waters.

Mira stares at it first and pretends to think, then she agrees to meet the dolphin. This made the girl happy and grabs the songstress' hand, then she drags her to the waters and stops at the edge where the water can't reach. The little girl, or Priscilla which the songstress remembers from the game, calls for the dolphin. And on cue, a familiar aquatic, gray mammal swims towards them as it jumps and dives into the water. For the songstress, it is rather welcoming to see an animal that is close to Earth and smiles. It is a bottlenose dolphin and chirps cheerily as it bobs it head at them.

"He-y! Mr. Dolphin! My name is…Pri-scil-la!" the girl stated cheerily. "Now you say it."

Mira resists laughing at this. It is true that dolphins are smart, but she doubts it can learn human language. 'A parrot, yes. Dolphin, I highly doubt it.' she thought, then she turns to see Cloud and Riley walking towards them. "Hey." She greeted them.

Hearing her, the girl turns to see two other people… but her eyes are right on Cloud's outfit. "Who are you guys? Are you members of the Shinra, Inc.?" she asked with a bitter tone, which surprises the songstress a bit.

"No! We're fighting against the Shinra!" Riley said defensively and cheerily.

"… That's how it is." The blonde shrugs, which earns him glares from the two girls on his uncaring behavior again.

"I don't believe you! Get out of here!" the girl yells at them and back away.

"Whoa, hold on…" the songstress said, attempting to calm her and explain… when a familiar foe came to view and is heading towards them.

"Um guys, a freaky monster heading for us in a few seconds!" The mime shouts on spotting it and takes out her dagger.

The said monster looks like a mutated fusion of a catfish and a Koi fish. It has a blue and green body, a purplish-pink head with horns and a pair of big yellow eyes, white fins tipped with red, it also has a bone-like armor on the front and along black tail with spikes, three blue circles and a tail fin at the end of it. The thing seems to swim in the air and attempt to hunt the dolphin as its meal. But the aquatic mammal gives it a slip and quickly swims away into the sea.

"Be careful Mr. Dolphin!" Priscilla shouts and attempts to help her friend.

"Ah wait! Don't!" the songstress shouts but it is too late to grab her as the little girl enters the water. Seeing the new prey, the monster zeroes in on her and attacks her. She is hit by the tail and falls into the water… but never gets up.

"Hey! Hold on, we're coming!" Cloud shouts as he grabs his blade, his two companions quickly arm themselves with their weapons. He quickly charges at the beast and slashes the air… then a sudden sharp wind slash on the monster's eye. It made a mark causing it to roar in pain… and then roar angrily back at them.

"You think it's mad at us?" Riley asked and she earns a look from the two. But they quickly turn back their attention on the monster when it attempts to Moonstrike them. Cloud it hit on the head quite hard, Mira merely backs away from range and Riley dodge roll out of the way before she strike back with Dark Fire. The creature is not happy and cast a spell… locking Riley in a water bubble, force her to take a deep breath.

The mime tries to get out of it, by swimming to the edge of the bubble but the wall of the bubble feels like a thick, gelatin-rubber-like wall. She seems miffed at this, crossing her arms as Mira comes to her side and cast thunder at the bubble. The electricity hits the bubble and pops like any other bubbles when hit by a pin. Riley breathes and spits outs excess water that entered her mouth.

"Okay… I get why the characters can't swim out of the bubble, but why can't they cast a spell on themselves to get free?" the mime asked, as she quickly cast Matra Magic on the monster and Mira cast Cure on Cloud.

"Riley! Focus!" the songstress hissed and cast thunder at the monster again, only to miss when it rolls into the air.

"Oh right, we better save that girl! She's too young to be drowned to death!" the mime yelps and cast more spells at it. However, unlike in the game where the monster stays put, this one is flying around and avoiding it. Even Cloud's Long Ranged sword attack keeps missing and every time Mira sings, it attacks her immediately to stop. At some point, both girls tried rescuing the girl underwater, only to be flung back to the beach by the monster's tail.

"Dang it! Float still!" the songstress swore as her spells kept missing and she nearly hit Riley with the Blizzard spell.

"Watch it!" the mime screeches at her as she waves the empty bottle of Ether she just drank.

"Sorry!" as Cloud attempts to strike it down again. 'How the heck can we rescue the girl?'

"_Forgetting something…?"_

"Uh?" She looks around and finds no one. 'Strange… is it Minerva again?' she thought. Then all of a sudden… her mind is replaying a memory… a memory where she first called a griffon from a mix of thunder spells. But a closer look… she sees a circular flash beneath her… the Tri-Thundaga materia, have untangled itself and then goes to the gathered spell with the natural materia's aid… and takes the form of the said Griffon.

And then she is hit by a wave of water and immediately snaps back to reality. "Ow. Crud." She winces, on hitting the beach wall. The Ex-SOLDIER stabbed his blade on the sand to hold on and Riley manages to find a rock to grab on.

"Mira! Are you okay?" Cloud calls out as he distracts the monster and Riley once more attempts to get the little girl out. Unfortunately, she is notice and promptly whacks her away.

"I'm good!" she calls back and gets up, arms her keytar again. 'Why of all times I have to re-' she then stops her thoughts and realizes something. The memory that played in her mind, showed how she called a Gryphon out of Thunder spells. 'I… I did not summon a Gryphon… I created it out of a materia!'

Immediately, her hand dives into her pockets and pulls out a Shinra manufactured Flare materia. Looking at it, she doubts that she could do that again but with the time running out for the drowning girl, she has to try. 'That memory did not replay in my mind without a reason.' she thought.

She then quickly releases the Flare materia, transforming it back into it's spiritual form… but it remained that way. 'What?' she thought, as the Lifestream continues to twirl around her. 'Shit…! I don't know how to-' Her thought is then cut by another replay of the memory of the gryphon again… This time, she now remembers the circle. 'Wait, that circle… isn't that what I drew for a summon fan art?' she thought.

"_Don't go forgetting, kay?"_

She once more looks around for the voice… as she quickly remembers it is the same one she heard during the elevator fight in the Shinra Building. Now knowing that the circle is her own creation, she decides to try again… but this time she mentally mapped and created a new circle on the ground. The Lifestream senses this and dive into the circle, in there it takes the form of a creature the songstress wants. And with a wave of her hand up, a flaming orange dolphin, with a chrome armor with red gems on the head, fins and tail, jumps out of the circle.

Once more, she can't help to be surprised…

At first, she thought she summoned a Gryphon out of a collection of magic spells.

But now she knows that she did not summon it, she created it out of a materia by releasing it's confined form and giving it a new but living form.

"… I didn't know I can do that…" she mutters as the orange dolphin chirps and swims around her in the air. Then it quickly rushes to the beast and charging at it on full throttle by its side. Both Cloud and Riley stop for a moment, surprise at the new creature that is attacking the monster.

"Um… is that friendly?" Riley asked.

"Yes! Yes, it is!" the songstress shouts as she runs past the two and cast bolt at the monster. "Now can anyone save the little girl before she inhales more water?!"

"I'm on it!" the mime then darts pass the blonde and dives into the water. On spotting her, she immediately grabs her and swims back to the surface. Once breaking through the surface, she quickly swims to the beach and carries the little girl to where the beach wall is. Laying her down on the sand, the mime makes a quick check on the pulse. "It's faint." she mutters and performs a CPR.

As she revives the girl, Mira, Cloud and the orange dolphin continues with the fight. The monster attempts to bite the dolphin, but the aquatic mammal went under and ram on it from below. 'Whoa… does the dolphin know one of Tifa's limit breaks?' the songstress thought, as she remembers one of the bar maid's limit breaks which is named after the dolphin.

Suddenly, she and Cloud got trap in the water bubbles and the blonde is failing to get out by slashing on it. Mira attempts to cast a spell to pop the bubble, but to her surprise the spells kept missing on her or Cloud. As if the water is messing with her aim. But thankfully, the dolphin didn't take long to cast Flare on the two bubble and sets them free.

"Thanks Spitfire!" the songstress calls out to the dolphin and effectively naming it.

"Spitfire?" Cloud asked, as he spits out water.

"It's the dolphin's name." as they quickly focus back into battle, casting bolt on the monster again.

Meanwhile, Riley is performing CPR on the little girl and by the 4th round, she got the little girl breathing again. As she coughs out water, the mime heard the monsters final roar and turns to see it falling into the water. But due to the height, it causes another wave like what it did to them before.

'Crap…' Riley thought, as she once more carries the girl and makes a beeline for the stairs.

"This is bad." Mira mutters, although she did see Riley carried the girl away for safety, she does not think that she can Cloud can get away in time. The then dolphin darts to them and cover them with it's body as the wall of water hits. The blonde manages to stab his blade on the sand and holds on, while Mira holds on the dolphin.

Then she hears something cracks…

Once it is over, suddenly the dolphin drops on the sand and is flailing due to the lack of water. The songstress wonders why it couldn't fly anymore and notices something… the red gems have cracked and crumbling off the armor. Thinking that the gems are the reason why the dolphin is able to fly, she quickly helps it by dragging it back into the sea. Once it is in the water, the dolphins chirps and swims around her before it swims into the sea.

"I hope you find a pod you'll fit in!" the songstress shouts at the dolphin, as she get out of the water and the blonde sheathes his blade. "You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah… I'm good." Cloud replied as he breathes in air and wrings out the water from his shirt.

Riley sighs in relief as both of them are safe, then a man arrives, fretting over and carried Priscilla back to their house. The mime snorts a 'You're welcome' at the man, since she was nearly knocked over as he takes her away. As both Mira and Cloud walk to her, an elderly woman approaches them.

"Excuse me, but are you the people who saved that little girl?" She asked.

"Yeah… that would be us." the mime replied, then motions them to follow her. The three look at one another and decided to comply and follow the elder. They then stop in front of a house, which is the very house they first saw on their arrival.

"Come, I heard what happened. You've done so much for Priscilla. You all must be tired. If you want to get some rest, stay here." as she shows them a room full of beds, but they are bunk beds which surprises the girls. Then the elder turns and heads out of the house. "Make yourselves at home." she then shuts the door gently.

Looking around for a moment, then Riley collapse on one to the beds "I'm beat…" she groans, she is starting to feel dizzy from casting spells at the thing.

"… I guess we'll be staying here." the blonde said.

The songstress immediately goes out to find a bathroom, and once more, the house is not exactly right on the dot like in the game. While their room got 4 bunk beds, there is a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom and a laundry area which the ravenette cheers once more. After she gets herself clean and dumps her clothes to be washed again, she drags the blonde on getting a bath. She knows that salt has no negative effect on skin, but if it's not wash away it will make the skin feel slimy and unclean.

Meanwhile, the mime gets up on hearing the knock on the door. She opens the door only to be tackled down by a hyper ninja.

"Ow… Yuffie, get off." she whined.

"My goodness, Riley, are you okay?" Aerith asked, as Kunsel helps the mime get Yuffie off.

"I'm dizzy from casting too much spells…" the mime groans as she sits up and rubs her head. As Yuffie hops around the room, the flower girl helps her up and ask her about the rumor about her, Mira and Cloud saving a little girl.

As Kunsel closes the door, he spots something odd on the floor and he picks it up.

It did not take long for the last group to arrive and they too are tired out on fighting a seemingly endless grass monsters and a cactus-like bat.

Because of that, they decided to find the black cloak man tomorrow.

**:::^*^:::**

That night, both girls decided to talk and quietly sneaks out to the beach. On arriving there, Riley can't help to do a cart wheel and then strikes a pose. "Yes! That's a small step for two Earthling girls, and a giant leap for our goal!" the mime cheers, before she is shushed by her best friend. "But seriously, that was awesome. You summoned out another creature again!"

"I did not summon it." the songstress replied, she then explains that she can somehow recycle materias and is able to give it new forms.

"Seriously?" the mime looks at her, who nodded back in response. "Man, you got yourself a cool power!"

"And I'm still a bit clueless on why I have it."

"Meh… seriously, you got something cool, while I got something really gross?"

"Riley…" she rubs her forehead at her.

"Psssh, right, whatever. Anyway, tomorrow, I'm going with Cloud."

"Wait, you're going with Cloud tomorrow?"

"Yeah, since Kun-kun backs out because of the high voltage tower." the mime noted and remembers how she asked the Ex-Second on getting up the city and base thru there. "Besides, after the march, I'm going to buy more stronger equipments for the gang."

"Are you sure, I mean, you might end up disguising yourself as a trooper and marching with the band."

"Yup, it will be like the ol' C.A.T. back in high school." which it puts a scowl on the songstress face. "… You still hate that class, do you?"

"Ya think?" she snaps back at her. Apparently, in their country in their world, Citizen Army Training or C.A.T., is one class she despised the most back in their 4th year high school. She cannot be excused or exempt from it, since she does not have any health problems. She remembers the sun making them sweat like pigs as they march around, the punishments when one causes trouble in class they all get punish and the fact that the commanding officer tend to yell right on the face.

"That least be thankful that I pulled some strings to help you pass that class." and the songstress can't help to agree with her. Riley was a Captain in the C.A.T., she makes thing bearable for her platoon unlike the others back then. "Anyway, I counted the gils… it's almost 20000 by the way, and it is enough to buy better weapons and a few more items for the party aside from Cloud and Kunsel."

"That's good but almost 20? I kinda expect it to almost reach fifteen."

"Well, Barret's party did encounter an almost endless wave of grass monsters."

"Wow, that must've been annoying."

"True…"

Then there is silence…

"I wonder… after this, will we be able to go back to Earth?" Riley asked.

"I don't know, but one thing I know is… as long as we're together we can get thru this."

"Right." the two then sat on the base of the step and watches silently as the waves come in and go… but the silence is broken by the songstress, when she yelps and shoos a behemoth ghost. And the mime couldn't help to laugh at that.

Meanwhile… at the house.

A tiny light lit under the bed and a moment later it vanishes.

* * *

><p>Silver: Side note - Yes, C.A.T. or Citizen Army Training is a compulsory class here... and I hate that class. This chapter is more confusing and more lose control than the last time. Not to mention on how many I have to retype to make some scenes shorter. And yes! As Mira is still unknown on where she got her powers, Riley got her miming abilities from… Jenova! And yes, Sephiroth called her mama… uh oh, sorry Riley. Still, this chapter is a mess in my opinion and again not my best. READ AND REVIEW ARE MY COFFEE AND PBJ SANDWHICH!<p> 


	21. Marine Carnival

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird does not own Final Fantasy 7 or the songs that are in this story, only her OCs… Otherwise, we might end up having a not-so-epic battle with the lawsuits.)

_**Altering Rhythm**_

_**Marine Carnival**_

Silver: For those who noted about the past and present tense confusion, it's been my problem too. Along with... which my sister kindly points out, the fact I'm paraphrasing while I talk. The last chapter, I used a grammar checker my friend suggested… And it's a fail and brought back the problem. So I decided to download another and fix the last chapter. Once I fix it, mind telling me if it's better or worse on chapter 20 and this chapter. If I do better, I'll re-edit some chapters with 'tense' problems. If not, find another checker and test it out on the next chapters.

* * *

><p><strong>Marine Carnival<strong>

Hissing…

Again, tugs the strings out of reach.

Expecting this, but not this soon…

"_I need more time…"_

**:::^*^:::**

Before the sun comes up and the parade…

Mira and Riley are still at the beach, trying to find out more of their powers. Right now, both girls are looking on the orange dolphin which is Mira's second creature she created. "Wow… this is really a breathing being. Still, how come it's not flying anymore?" The mime asked, as they look at the aquatic mammal from a distance.

"Do you see the curved and hollow parts of the armor?" the songstress points out, the mime then notices it and thought that there is something missing.

"Yeah, it looks like a holder for gems or stone." Then it clicks to her. "The gems are the reason why the dolphin can fly, is it?"

"Yeah, the gems broke when Spitfire protected us from the last huge wave."

"That was cheap."

"I know, I'm starting to think I did not create it right." As the dolphin whistles and chirps, then splashes the water around. "Yet… it seems that it loves the sea more than flying now."

"I guess that's good, he- she- what is the gender of your dolphin again?"

"… I don't know…"

And then there is a bit of silence between them, only the crickets are making a sound.

"That's it. I'm going to put genders on the creatures I make next time." The songstress noted herself and sighs. After that, they test Riley's abilities and to find out if she can do more than miming. Manipulation and mental control, both girls decided to test it out in the morning when Cloud is awake. The brunette tries to 'infect' a crab nearby, but nothing happens aside from getting a painful pinch from its claw. Next is shape-shifting, the results are a little surprising and limited to the girls' opinions.

First is to copy one's looks…

"Well, this is something." Mira points out.

"Did I copy his looks?"

"Nope, but I can say, your hair is red as a rose." And the songstress lends her pocket mirror to the mime. There she sees the similar red color on her hair and in her style, which made her grin silly.

"Awesome! I'm a redhead!"

"But you didn't mimic his hairstyle or even the color of his eyes… Did you try to change your eye color?"

"Duh, I did." The mime points out. "I tried to mentally make myself look like Reno." Then gives another look in the mirror. "But changing my hair color is the closest feat I could do right now… I think." The mime shrugs at this as she returns her default hair color, she really don't know if she has all of Jenova's powers. But right now, she only got miming and the ability to change hair color which she is a bit glad on.

"Okay, one last test then we head back to the house." The songstress said.

"Right… this is going to be painful." This is what the mime is dreading… Growing appendages. She like to have her own ability to fly, but the fact that sprouting a wing on the back is going to rip her skin… she is now in her own mental debate. Seeing the not-so-happy look on the mime's face, the ravenette thinks for a moment.

"Hey…" she calls her best friend. "You know, instead of sprouting a wing, why don't you grow tails or ears instead?" Riley looks at her. "Well, think about it. A huge wing? Or minor parts such as a tail or a pair of ears?"

The mime pauses for a minute and then her eyes widens. "Duh! Of course! I'll just grow small parts first!" she gives the songstress a thumbs-up and begins to focus on the appendages. She imagines having a tail or ears of an…

There is a ripping sound and both girls looks, once more, quite surprised.

"… I really don't know if I should be sad or happy with this." As Riley touches her furry, brown tail, which flicks out of subconscious reflect.

As it turns out, Riley can shift or grow extra appendages and the very proof is right on the cat's ears and tail she has. Still she is in slight pain of growing and shifting the appendages on her body, which she'll definitely feel in the morning. Then she remembers that Genesis and Angeal can retract the appendages back in their bodies, and tries it with her cat's ears and tail. It took about a few painful minutes, the tail is retracted, painfully, into her body and her ears morphs back to normal.

"Ow…" Riley whines in pain as she rubs the side of her head and back to ease the pain. "I thought generating extra limbs is painful, but reeling it back is the worst."

"Here." The songstress said and tosses a potion at her. "Also, you might as well change your clothes or add zippers to where you want to grow extra limbs." And she points out the small hole at the back of her jogging pants.

"Ah man…" The mime miffs at this and uses her grey hoodie to cover her back. Checking the time, the two quickly sneaks back into the house and quietly heads back to their beds.

**:::^**_*_**^:::**

Green and lively…

That's all what her eyes see as she seems to fly around the abundant flora of the land.

Awed at this sight, yet it seems familiar and could not put a finger on it.

Suddenly, something pulls her into the sky.

**:::^*^:::**

"Ack!" As she falls off her bed with a thud and causing the others to wake up.

"Riley?" As the flower girl peeks in the room, having risen early and used the restroom. There she sees the brunette right in the wooden floor, rubbing her side from having fallen off the bed. Mira, Cloud, Tifa and Kunsel are up and alert, thanks to the noise the mime made. Yuffie and Barret are still asleep, only grunting at the disturbance before turning away. Red, on the other hand, is awake and currently eating his meal in the living room. "Are you okay?"

"Ow… I fell off the bed." The mime points out as she gets up and tosses her covers back in the bed.

Once everyone is up, including the hard-to-wake Barret, the party straps their gear and packs on. As they get ready, the girls hear this familiar song coming from above and the mime attempted to control Cloud. At first, she tried on manipulating him by tripping over the red feline… nothing happened. She tried making him wark like a Chocobo… still nothing. Then, she knows her best friend is going to kill her for this, the brunette attempts to make him kiss the songstress.

… Nothing happens and she is still alive.

'I guess I don't have any manipulation power, at least that's a good thing for me.' The mime thought as the others head out. As she decided to wear black military pants, so she can pass as a male and join the march, both she and Mira witnesses this scene again…

"Tifa… When Sephiroth and I went to Nibelheim, where were you?" Cloud asked the barmaid.

"… We saw each other, right?" she replied.

"The other time."

That's when she stiffens a bit before answering back. "No… it was 5 years ago. I don't remember." And, by that, she quickly shuts the topic off but the blonde seems not that satisfied with the answer. Seeing this, the barmaid quickly points out the noise above and the little girl whom the three saved wants to meet them.

Cloud and the others went outside and the music is much louder. The music is not one of the girls' favorite, but they both remember using it for a march in their C.A.T. class. They head to a house, the one which is higher from the ground and is set on stilts. Both Mira and Riley wait below as the blonde Ex-SOLDIER heads up, but then they notice… Kunsel is looking at them for a brief moment before looking away.

'… Weird.' Both girls thought, as Priscilla came out of the house before the blonde climbs the other set of stairs.

"Are you all right now?" he asked.

"Ummm… thanks for helping…" she sheepishly said, as she and the blonde went down the stairs. Reaching the bottom, she looks at the two girls and apologizes to them too. "I'm sorry, I mistook you for one of those Shinra, Inc.…"

"That's all right." The blonde said out casually.

"Hey, everybody makes mistakes, so it's okay." The mime said cheerily.

The girl brightens up a little and looks at the songstress. "I'll give you something SPECIAL!" she then reaches into her pocket and pulls out a pendant with a red orb on it. "It's an amulet. Take good care of it, okay?"

On touching the red orb, the ravenette hears a female giggle from the ice summon within it.

"What's that music? It sure sounds quite lively." The former AVALANCHE leader noted.

"I heard that rehearsing the reception for the new Shinra president." Priscilla explains.

"Rufus?! I gotta pay my respects." The black man said with sarcasm.

"Grandpa and grandma told me this beach was beautiful when they were small. But after the Shinra built that city above, the sun stopped shining here, and the water got polluted…" Everyone seems to sympathize with her, even the two Earth girls. The two knows the feeling of having their home polluted, despite their home does not mine spiritual energy for electricity.

"You think Rufus is thinking about crossing the ocean from here, too?" Aerith asked and everyone look at her.

"What? Does that mean Sephiroth already crossed the ocean?" the barmaid asked incredulously.

"Well, if the former general had crossed the ocean, all we have to do is sneak and stow ourselves in a ship." The mime suggested.

"Cloud, didn't you finish Rufus off?" The red feline asked and the blonde shakes his head.

"We gotta get to the town up there… Mebbe we could climb the tower?" the black man asked.

"Impossible, there's a high-voltage current running underneath the tower. Plus with the water, we'll surely be shocked to death before we get an inch high." Kunsel points out.

"He's right! It's too dangerous!" Priscilla warns them… until her eyes brighten with an idea. "But… you might be able to if Mr. Dolphin helps you." And she quickly runs towards the beach, but she stops for a moment and looks back at them. "Follow me!"

As the girl heads to the beach, the group looks at one another and the barmaid quickly states. "High-voltage tower… I guess this means Cloud will be all right." She immediately looks away and places her hands behind her, when the blonde looks at her.

"Yeah, better leave it to Cloud!" The flower girl added as the blonde turns to her incredulously.

"We're counting on you, Cloud!" Red stated calmly, although the girls did notice a glint in his eyes.

"Hey!" Cloud protests but it is too late as the party separates and explore the town. Only Mira, Riley, and Barret who is just talking to a fisherman nearby, are still with him. "Wait a second!" but slumps on seeing the others left him with the highly risky task.

"Hey, don't look too glum." Riley said and the blonde looks at her. "I'm going with you if it helps." Somehow, it manages to encourage him a little as they head to the beach while Mira looks for an alternate way to get up.

**:::^*^:::**

'I need my specimens…' the mad scientist thought, as he recalls Rufus shutting off the chase on the last Ancient. Although he sent the young president his resignation letter with a stiff expression, inside he is still having a fit like a kid who is having a tantrum about not getting a new toy.

Right now, he continues with his observation on his Reunion Theory and to study the videos of his two future specimens. His smile widens on one video, where he extremely zooms in and watches its interesting scene. 'Interesting… truly fascinating.' He thought, as one of the specimens uses the materia to call out the griffon.

However, even with these sample videos, he wants to find out more and to see how they will fare with his prized specimen.

To complete his experiments with satisfying results…

For now, he waits… he does not have the right equipment and observation is the only thing he can do for now. 'They'll see how grand it will be.' He thought giddily as he makes notes on the black specimen.

**:::^*^:::**

Arriving at the beach, Cloud and Riley see Priscilla blowing on her whistle and the dolphins appear, swimming towards them. The little girl looks surprised on seeing the new dolphin and wonders where it came from.

"Hey Spitfire." The mime greets the orange dolphin and the aquatic mammal chirps back in return.

"Is that dolphin your friend?" Priscilla asked.

"Yeah, Spitfire is a friend of ours and helped us when we were rescuing you. You can keep it so Mr. Dolphin can have a friend if you like."

"Really?"

The mime nodded at her as the orange dolphin does its own moon-walk above the water, which entertain them a bit and the other dolphin quickly learns the move and mimics it. After the short show, the little girl shows what she meant at how Mr. Dolphin will help them in getting up the tower. Barret arrived just in time to see Priscilla signals the dolphin to jump and they are awed on how high it goes before falling back down in the sea.

"Now ain't that something! I ain't never seen no Dolphin jump like that!" the former AVALANCHE leader said as the orange dolphin does the same trick as its fellow aquatic mammal. But it didn't reach the same height like the other dolphin did though.

"It's a good try, Spitfire." The mime said encouraging at the orange dolphin as it does the moon-walk again.

"Pretty cool, huh? When I blow this whistle, Mr. Dolphin jumps for me." She said cheerily and then gives the whistle to the mime. "Here! This is for you!"

"Thank you." The mime thanks her as she wears the whistle on her neck.

"What are we supposed to do with it?" the blonde asked.

"Just go into the water, blow this whistle and Mr. Dolphin'll jump you to the top of the pole!" Priscilla said like it is a normal thing to do.

"Jump to the top of the pole?"

"You mean that one?" the mime asked as she points at the steel pole sticking out the tower.

"Yep! That's right! If you jump just right, you can climb to the top of the town." the little girl said cheerily.

"Good luck you two! If you make it, we'll follow you! Whoa, I'll hold the PHS for you. It'll break if it gets wet." As the black man takes the blonde's PHS, while Riley have given her phones to the songstress.

The two enter the water and Cloud is the first to go jumping with the dolphins. But the brunette has to adjust the position and the angle, so the blonde can land on the pole. Then she blows the whistle to call the dolphin and jump Cloud up to the pole. Although, it is a few inches farther, he manages to grab the pole and hoist himself up. The mime smiles a bit, having successfully gotten him up, it is now her turn to jump. Once more she positions herself in the same area where the blonde was, but a little bit forward to the pole. She then whistles for the dolphin, the aquatic mammal hears the signal and dives under the water. It then turns and swims up in a fast pace under her. The two then jumps out of the water and Riley manages to land on the pole, as the dolphin dives back into the sea.

After giving a shout of thanks for the aquatic mammals, the two climbed up the next area. There the mime can't help to be awed… at the view of the Cid's prized airship, which Shinra has taken from him.

The Highwind.

'If Square is going to make a remake of Final Fantasy 7, I hope they make it quite detailed like in Dirge of Cerberus… real life is so awesome!' she thought as she tries not to grin at this sight and quickly follows Cloud to the entrance of the airport. The two arrive in the hallway and it greeted by troopers quickly marching to their positions, but they did not notice them in their hurry. As the blonde wonders why they are in a hurry, the mime sees a red suit military personnel walks out of the locker room and sees them.

"Hey! You still dressed like that? Come're!" the man shouts at them, as the mime restrain from laughing.

'Dude… are you blind or far-sighted?' she thought silly as the blonde reaches for this blade, only for her to elbow him right on his stomach. "Not now!" she hissed and drags him into the locker room.

Inside, the room is bigger than what is portrayed in the game. There are actually rows of lockers, shower areas and changing rooms, to the mime's relief.

"Today's the big day when we welcome President Rufus! Hurry up and change!" the man shouts at them and waits at the door.

The two looks at one another before the mime shrugs it away and went off to find themselves some uniforms. For some reason, it seems that people in this world didn't bother with privacy, as most of the lockers are practically open. 'Or they are in a hurry to join the parade.' She thought as she checks the lockers, she quickly finds a roll of bandage and a few potions in a first aid kit. She quickly pockets them and checks other lockers. She finds the uniforms in some lockers and makes a beeline for the changing room, so she can make her chest flat.

**:::^*^:::**

Meanwhile, back with Mira and the others…

"So, how are we going to get up into the city?" Tifa asked.

"Can't we try bribing the guard?" Mira points at the only trooper who is guarding the elevator which is the only way to get there safely.

"How sure he will cooperate?" Kunsel asked.

"Yeah, he'll probably want all of our money, or even worse, our materias!" the ninja girl exclaims in a childish, dramatic way.

"I… don't know." The songstress is stumped on this one. In the game, he'll just ask for ten gil for a lift into the city… but the situation right now is different and he'll probably ask a price higher instead. As she tries to think of a solution to get up in the city, she did not notice someone is staring at her until she feels it. She slightly flinched and looks around wildly, before calming down but still on her guard.

"I know! Why don't you sing him to sleep, instead?" Aerith asked and looks at the songstress.

"Now that's a gud idea!" Barret said with his fist pumping the air. Thinking about it, it is a good idea and not to mention a free lift, so the songstress agrees on singing the guard to sleep. After telling them to hide from the guard's view and she'll signal if he is asleep, she makes a few minor adjustments before heading towards him.

"Hello." She greeted him politely.

"You better turn around now, lady. No one is allowed to use the lift today." He stated gruffly, and the songstress is quick to pick up the tired tone in his voice. Not to mention he seems annoyed also.

"Oh I'm not asking for a lift, I was going to ask for directions." She points out with the wave of her hand and then looks at him again. "Say, you look a little off." She said, sounding concerned.

"Ugh…" he groans as he rubs his eyes. "You can say it again… I woke up extremely early to practice, only to find out they pulled you into guard duty."

"Ah, so you're supposed to take part in the parade above?"

"Yeah… this sucks." He miffs and yawns.

Now, she feels sorry for the guard. But she guess it's a good thing that she'll be singing him to sleep and arms her keytar. She asked him if he wants to listens to some music, other ones than the one currently playing lively. Thinking about it, the guard agrees as he is getting annoyed at the parade music since he is not participating. Nodding at this, she sets the volume a little higher and test it out. She once more sings out this song.

We could just go home right now

Or maybe we could stick around

For just one more drink.

Oh yeah.

She sings.

Get another bottle out

Let's shoot the breeze, sit back down

For just one more drink.

Oh yeah.

Here's to us.

Here's to love.

All the times that we've messed up.

Here's to you.

Fill the glass.

Cuz the last few days have gone too fast.

Oh let's give 'em hell.

Wish everybody well.

Here's to us.

Here's to us.

She grins once more on the familiar sound of snoring and turns to see the guard is sleeping as he leans on the wall. Thinking it is not a good position to sleep, she helps him by making him sit down instead. She then signals the group with a wave of her hand and the group appears around the corner. She presses the up button for the elevator and the doors open, they quickly pile into the elevator and heads up for the city.

**:::^*^:::**

After the two changes into the Shinra trooper uniform and packing their clothes in their packs, the two exits the changing room…

"Wow!" the commander said, as he approaches them. "You both look good in it!" as the mime refrains from laughing out loud. For her, it's like crossplaying and she got no problem with breathing as the bandages flatten her chest. The only difference is that she is now handling real equipment… like the helmet for example.

It has a red shades and targeting system in it, but it can be removed by a button on the side. But there is one downside of the helmet… is the loss of side vision. As if the helmet is equipped with horse's blinders or she is looking through a binocular, much to the mime's irritation. 'Shinra… what the heck do you think of your own military? Horses? Mules?' she thought out of exasperation.

"You remember the Greeting procedure, right!?" he then looks at them as neither of them answers back. "… It seems you both have forgotten about it. All right, I'll show you again! Do just like we do."

Suddenly, a real trooper enters the room followed by another one. "Commander! We'll help too! This is how to do it!" the first trooper said with such energy.

"We'll sing too!" the other added.

'Are they troopers… or cheerleaders?' the disguise mime thought as she mentally stomps on the bubbling feeling in her.

"All right! Show 'em!" the commander orders them.

"Now, march! This is the Welcoming March!" as the first trooper shows them the moves and marches on the same place, it frankly reminds Riley of one C.A.T. session.

"Then! I'll sing along with you!" the other pipes in "Quietly-! Aaaaah! Aaaaah!" he tested out his voice and the disguise mime cringes slightly.

'Aw man, he sounds horrible! And they allowed him on this march? It's a good thing that the game doesn't have any voice-overs.' she thought, as the troopers begin to sing and march. The brunette refrains herself from shooting the second trooper for having a horrible voice. She even notices that the disguise Ex-SOLDIER's hand is twitching, she thinks he is refraining himself from hacking the horrible singer to death. After they remember the Welcoming March performance…

"Good! Make sure you do well at the real parade!" the commander stated, then another trooper comes in and announced that the president has arrived. "All right, show time! Don't disgrace yourselves!"

The troopers saluted while Riley does a mock salute and Cloud just stands beside her. They exit the locker room and heads out to where they'll meet with the others.

However, on arriving there…

"Oh no…! No one's here! Late!? Hey rookies! It's because you're both running around like that!" the commander shouts at them with a shaking fist. They did arrive at the meeting place but it is empty and they hear singing not too far from them. One of the troopers, went to find out where the singing came from and to his joy, he finds the parade!

And all they have to do is to cross this alley.

"Captain! We'll take a short cut!" the trooper shouts at the commander. The man dashes to where the said trooper is and sees the parade. He grins on seeing this and signals the other troopers to move to where he is standing.

As Cloud and Riley approach the shortcut…

**:::^*^:::**

"Is it clear?" Tifa asked as they others anxiously waits for Kunsel and Red to say that it is okay.

Arriving on the top floor, they were nearly seen by Shinra troopers. But, thankfully, they are too busy with the parade and the party decided to hide in the elevator for a while. A moment later, both Kunsel and Red volunteered to see if the place is clear of guards.

However, an unfortunate thing happened while waiting…

And it is not long when Kunsel heads back to the elevator they are hiding and gives them an okay. The next thing he knows, is that he is almost barreled down by the party as if they want to get away from the elevator. The Ex-Second looks stupefied at this, as Red came back from scouting and he seems to be amused on this sight.

"Air! Fresh air!" the ninja girl heaves, she leans on the wall as Barret walks out of the elevator… looking sheepish.

"That's abominable! Even worse than Greg's armpits!" the songstress exclaims as she coughs and helps the bar maid by rubbing circles on her back.

"… Okay, what happen back there?" Red asked as the Ex-Second stands up and looks at the party. They just stared at the four female members of the group, who are now glaring at the black man who seems to have something red on his face.

"That guy just dropped a stink bomb." The songstress hissed as the girls nod in agreement.

And then there's a pause… "Um… what?" Kunsel asked.

"What Mira means is… Barret's fart stinks!" Yuffie shrieks at the former AVALANCHE leader, whose face have turned into a dark cherry color.

"Barret… what did you eat last night or for breakfast?" Aerith asked and she snorts a bit to get rid of the stinky memory.

"Hey! I just ate what you guys ate last night and for breakfast!" the black man protested back in defense.

"… I'm starting to think that beans for dinner is such a bad idea." Tifa comments and Mira, who have some experience due to the brunette's choice of midnight snacks, can't help to agree with her.

Once Kunsel calms the party down, he reminds them that they have to head for the docks and sneak into the ship. Nodding at this, but they have one small problem…

No one knows where the dock is. Even Kunsel, who's been here once, does not know where it is since he was stationed at the airport. As they debate, Yuffie quickly snuck into the locker room and goes around each locker, looting items she thinks its treasure. As she takes a potion and a tent from one locker, she notices a pile of clothes with a note on top. She checks out the letter first and is surprised to see it is addressed to them.

"Hey guys! Someone left some stuff for us!" she calls the party and they enter the locker room. They notice the pile of Shinra trooper uniform as Kunsel takes the letter from her.

"To Mira and the others…" the Ex-Second reading the letter out loud to the party to hear. "You guys need to disguise as Shinra employees in order to stow ourselves into the ship. To Kunsel, you need to ditch the SOLDIER uniform for a while, because Cloud almost got caught. Don't worry about us, one of the commanders mistake us as troopers taking an off-duty. That gave us a chance to dress up as troopers and a chance to get on the ship. But since we were mistaken as troopers on off-duty, we both ended up joining the parade. Again, we're fine, so don't worry much. Instead, pick the uniforms I found and head for the docks by following the parade route. Oh and I must add this, sorry Barret, Yuffie, but none of these uniforms fits for you. Try looking your own disguise as you head there. We'll meet you guys after the parade, kay. From your miming friend, Riley."

They look at the uniform pile and then looks at each other.

"So… should we change into this now?" Aerith asked.

"I guess we should…" Tifa said with a sense of distaste in her voice.

"Wait." Mira pipes in and both flower girl and barmaid stops for a moment, as she rummages her belt bags. "Ah here we go." She mutters and takes out a few rolls of bandages and a sport bra. "Here."

"What do we do with these?" The barmaid asked as she takes a pair of it.

"Duh, to flatten our chest."

"Why do we need to flatten our chest?" the flower girl asked.

"… Have you seen a trooper with lumps on the front?" Both women get the point the songstress is pointing at and blushes out of embarrassment.

Except for Yuffie and Barret, they head to the changing room to change into their disguise. Both Tifa and Aerith shared one room, so they can help each other with the bandages. Mira has no problem flattening her chest on her own and is quick to change into the uniform. Once she is done, she exits the room and sees Kunsel helping Red into his disguise.

Now that she thinks about it, why didn't the party thought of putting him in a box of sorts. Once he tied the boots on his hind legs and made sure it does not fall off, he then puts on his helmet as he carries Red's.

"Try not to scratch with the boots on, okay?" he said as the feline nodded, feeling not so comfortable with the clothes. He then sees Mira, who is trying out the helmet as she puts it on before removing it. It seems she's trying to readjust her eyesight to the helmet's eye protection. "Is there something wrong?"

"Ugh, what's with these helmets?" She asked and looks at him as she blinks a bit. "It's like you put a chocobo blinker in there."

Kunsel shrugs at this and she scowls a bit, she then puts the helmet back on and tries to get used to its works. As she exercises herself by looking left to right...

"Mira, can I ask you something?" the Ex-Second asked.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"When you arrived at the rebuilt Nibelheim… Are there any Shinra personnel there?"

"… Well, just a few and the place seems to be scrambling about, trying to find and hunt down some missing specimens. They even told us not to go near them, since they are dangerous."

"Missing specimens?"

"Yeah, they said that those specimens are very important and they have to secure them."

"I see… but why does-" he is cut off, when both Tifa and Aerith are complaining as they walk out of the changing room in their trooper outfits. Both of them have a hard time breathing due to the pressure on their chest. Thankfully, the songstress points out that they made their bindings too tight and ushers them back in the changing room to readjust it. She follows them behind and takes the helmet off, to see how they bind and correct it. But before she enters the changing room, she takes a quick glance at the Ex-Second… and to notice that he is looking at her.

She can't tell his expression due to his helmet, but she can tell that Kunsel seems to… trying to find something out.

More specifically, trying to analyze her.

As she helps the other two with the bindings, she mentally debates in her mind on what caused the Ex-Second question her. 'Weird…' she thought as she checks Tifa's binding and asked if she can breathe. Once the binding is fixed, the group quietly checks the area again and then dash out into the streets.

They are then looking around for the parade and Red finds the route when he notices it in another street. But they have to hide for a moment to let it pass, so they can tail behind. Meanwhile, the songstress takes this chance to go equipment shopping and quietly left the group.

**:::^*^:::**

Arriving at the parade, the commander orders them to sneak in the formation by going behind them. The first trooper shows the two how to sneak in as they march… first he calmly walks to the back, then briskly heads to the open end and he successfully snuck in as he marches with the other troopers.

"Now listen up! This parade's going to be broadcast live on Shinra TV, all around the world!" the commander stated, as Riley thinks of waving at the camera once she gets into position. "If you look bad, the whole Junon army will look bad."

'Do I look I care? Nope!' the mime thought cheerily as she notices the formation of the platoons… The last row of the formation has a space wide enough for two troopers to sneak in. '… Wait, another change, again?' she thought, as she remembers what Mira said about the Don's increase of girls.

"Remember that and don't screw up! OK!" the man said as he ordered them to get ready. "Both of you will jump in when I give you the sign! Just sneak in from the back! Don't mess up the row! And no matter what you do, don't try to go in from the front!"

Although the mime seems to snort at this and thinking that if she and her friend cannot return to their home, she is considering taking a military career for a while. 'At least, I'll probably be better since I was a Captain in C.A.T.' she thought, as she stands behind Cloud.

When the commander gives out the signal, both Riley and Cloud sneak in successfully and marches in with the soldiers. The mime is quick to get the timing with the gun saluting, for her it's like a 3 second Shoulder Arms, then 3 second Port Arms and then repeat the sequences. The Ex-SOLDIER on the other hand is having a difficulty of getting the timing right, as he tries to mimic the gun salute… only to fail as they changes position.

"Pssht! Cloudy!" the mime hisses at the blonde, who looks back at her in response. Once she gets his attention, she begins counting… "One, two, three." she rest her gun on her shoulder. "One, two, three." She then pulls her gun into Port Arms. She keeps counting as she changes the gun salutes and the disguise blonde kept wondering why she is counting…

Until he gets the hint that she is helping him with the timing, he mentally thank her as he too begins to count and gets the timing right this time. Once they reach the end of the parade, Riley notices something moving behind and smiles a bit.

"Good! We made it." The commander said, coming up behind them and nearly making the mime jump out of her disguise.

'Where the heck he came from?!' she thought, as she doesn't remember him sneaking in the march. As the other troopers sing, the commander quickly instructs them on standing still as he takes his position behind. Both of them look at one another as they stand and stiffly faces to the front. Riley is tempting to move like what she did to Cloud in her first game, but she didn't get the chance to do it when the drills stop.

"How's the job? What happened to the Airship?" Rufus demands

"The long range airship is still being prepared. It should be ready in about three more days. Gya haa haa!" Heidegger stated arrogantly.

"Even the Air Force's Gelnika?" the response he got is that laugh again. "Stop that stupid horse laugh. Things are different than when father was in charge." And the burly man seems to deflate on seeing the stern and cold glare of the blonde president. "Is the ship ready?" he asked.

"Yes sir, we'll get it ready quickly." The burly man replies and the mime can tell that he is not that happy to follow Rufus at all. Once the president climbs into the tramway, Heidegger turns around for a moment and laughs.

The mime doesn't get why the idiot head of public safety is laughing when he is scolded by the young president, and then goes off taking out his frustration on the troopers in the game. But she and Cloud kept their mouth shut as the other troopers and commanders laughs with him. The burly man got pissed and goes off taking out his frustration on his men. The troopers, knowing the head's short temper, run away and scatters as he finds someone to hit on. The brunette quickly pushes the disguise blonde out of the way, causing the burly man to trip on his own feet and falls flat on his hairy front. Seeing this, makes the mime want to point and declare that he deserve that for dropping the plate. But the fact that they are in the den of the enemy, she kept the outburst reserve and mentally remind herself to shout that next time they meet.

Heidegger is even more pissed and is about to go after other troopers when he feels the tramway is starting to move. He quickly forgets about his frustration and makes a mad dash to the tramway. Managing to get inside, the tramway moves up as the troopers groups together.

"What a disaster." One of the troopers said.

"Heidegger was really irritated…" Another pipe in.

"What do you mean?" Riley asked and the blonde looks at her with surprise, although it is hidden thanks to the helmet.

"The man in the Black Cape's been roaming the city, but we can't find him." A third trooper points out.

"Man in a Black Cape?" Cloud asked

"He showed up two or three says ago, and killed a few of our troopers."

"He disappeared right after that. There's a rumor going around that it was Sephiroth." Another trooper joins in the conversation. Till their commander calls their attention and then dismisses them, but he stops the two for a moment.

"You messing with the army?!" the commander demands, as he did witness their stunt with their director earlier.

"Who cares?" the blonde stated with a shrug.

"If I do?" Riley asked and once more, earns another look from Cloud.

'How…?' he thought.

"You're too lazy!" the commander yells at them, face to face. The mime refrains from wiping out the spits in front of the commanding officer. "No break for you!" he then heads back to the locker room. "Get over here!" he shouts. The two looks at each other again, before they follow the commander.

"Riley, how did you do that?" Cloud whispered to the mime.

"Do what?"

"Your voice, how did you make it sound…?"

"Manly? Boyish?" she asked with a smirk, as they head back to where they started. "Cloudy, I'm a mime. It's my job to mimic others, especially voices."

**:::^*^:::**

After Mira's shopping spree, the group is happy to have better weapons while Kunsel kept his SOLDIER sword. As the parade passes by, they carefully tail behind them and then hide once they reaches the tramway. They watch as Rufus enters the the tram, Heidegger's failed attempts to take out his frustration on the troopers before getting on the tram and then the troopers are dismissed. Once they are gone, the party quickly enters the underpass.

"Okay… there's no parade here, now what?" Yuffie asked, as they stop for a moment since the parade is over and they still don't know where the dock is.

"The dock is that way." The songstress stated as she points where the dock is.

"Really?" Aerith asked.

"How did you know?" Kunsel asked and the songstress caught a tone in his voice she couldn't point at.

"The direction is right here." She deadpan at them, as she points at the painted directions on the underpass wall. They stared at it for a moment before turning away, feeling a bit sheepish for not noticing it. The sign is practically right beside them!

Moving on, the party quickly makes their way to the docks and makes sure they don't get unwanted attention. Arriving there, the party has to find disguises for Yuffie and Barret. And to their luck, they immediately found a pair of sailors and one of them is exactly the same size as Barret. Both Kunsel and Tifa walks towards them, pretending they are on patrol around the ship. As the sailors pass them, both Ex-Second and barmaid turns around and knocks the two out by hitting their heads from behind.

Once they take their uniforms, they quickly hid the real sailors in a dumpster and makes a beeline for the they enter the ship through the cargo gate, the songstress looks for the materia that Yuffie will block due to her seasickness. Finding the said materia, she swiftly picks it up and looks for Aerith. 'She might need this for curing the party.' She thought.

As she looks for her, she accidentally dumps on someone.

"Sorry!" she apologizes quickly.

"Mira?" the trooper asked and the songstress immediately recognizes the voice.

"Kunsel?" he nods back and she sighs in relief. "Aye, you almost gave me a surprise there… By the way, have you seen Aerith?"

"She's with Yuffie, helping her pack her clothes and hiding their equipments." He explains.

"I see, I'll go find them then."

"Hold on, I want to ask you something." He immediately blocks her way causing her to look at him strangely, although her expression is hidden behind the helmet. Needing to know, he decided to risk it or else he'll lose this chance. "You know something we don't, don't you?"

"What do you mean?" Right now, she got the feeling that he is definitely digging for information.

"What do you know about Banora?"

"Well, it's a small town and the only place you grow Dumbapples. It's also the home of Angeal and Genesis."

"Where is it located?"

"Near Mideel."

"Did you know that there is an underground laboratory and prison, which were abandoned by the company?"

Now that made her pause… she knows that Genesis used the undergrounds as his base and Zack went there for the final battle. She might understand if she's talking to a Turk who found that place, or discussing it to Weiss or Nero since they were there to pick the Crimson SOLDIER.

But…

"Yeah…" she carefully answered back. "Me and Riley went back there to give our loved ones flowers, that's when we discovered the underground. Hold on, why are you asking me this?" she demands as she crosses her arms.

That's when he pulls out a familiar device from his pocket and alarms went off in her head on seeing it.

'Oh snap! Riley... I'm so going to kill you!'

* * *

><p>Silver: And we're off to the last send off and then to the ocean… Uh oh… looks like Kunsel discovered something he shouldn't. Also, I'm planning another FFVII fanfic… the plot is a girl from the past awakens before the crisis starts. She knows more about the crisis that will unfold and must prepare for a war. Also, an enemy from the past is also returned. It is a slight crossover in the timeline, like Game A is the past of Game B. Suggestion if I should go with this story and if this and the other chapter have some improvement.<p>

NOTE: I used two grammar checkers in this chapter, but the other one expired before I finish this. (Trial mode, shrugs.)


	22. Song of the Sea

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird does not own Final Fantasy 7 or the songs that are in this story, only her OCs… Otherwise, we might end up having a not-so-epic battle with the lawsuits.)

_**Altering Rhythm**_

_**Song of the Sea**_

Silver: Okay, so the grammar checker is working but not that great… I can live with that. The title fits with the party's situation right now. Sorry if this one is quite late, I somehow bounce back into every single fan wagons I have ever been to. Right now, I'm currently in Danny Phantom and currently slowly progressing to Batman thanks to the _Under the Red Hood_… (OMG… why Jason has to die and return back as an anti-hero.)

* * *

><p><strong>Song of the Sea<strong>

Back in the locker room…

"This is the military!" the commander shouts right in front of the mime's helmet-covered face, and she instantly regrets the lack of face masks. "Your orders for today are to send off President Rufus at the dock! I'll keep drilling you until it's time!"

And again, two troopers enter the room. "I'll help, sir!" the first one said.

"Me too, sir!" the second one pipe in.

"All right!" the man yells and looks at them. "Line up in order and show me your final pose! Today's command is Formation. Remember it! Ready!? Junon Military Send Off, BEGIN!"

The soldiers perform the send-off, which reminds the mime of the basic drills she used to perform and then taught for some 3rd years way back. All, except for one gun drill, which they twirl the tip of the gun in a small circle and then reverse. Pretty much, performing this is going to a piece of cake. Also, since she is handling a real rifle, she sneakily removes the magazine and pockets it. Right now, she does not trust any guns in this world, especially the ones that are made by Scarlet.

'I doubt she even put a safety on every weapon that bimbo makes.' She thought as they face to the left. She then looks back at her companion, it seems that he hadn't spoken and quite tense on the shoulders.

It's either he has forgotten some of the moves, or he mixed up the commands.

'Looks like I'll be helping him again…' she thought, as she elbows him on his side. He turns to look at her, she slightly lean to him and whispers. "Just do what they do, kay?"

"All right!" the commander state proudly as his men has executed the performance almost perfectly, and then turns to the two. "Now you try it!"

The two join the other two troopers in their practice. Riley manages to execute the new gun drill, while Cloud tries to copy the moves. But he ended up making some mistakes because he is mirroring the other troop, like pointing the rifle at the wrong direction which he ends up getting quite a snap from the commander. Seeing his performance, she quickly helps him out by pointing out the right way and correcting the stance.

'I'm starting to miss teaching third years…' she thought.

Once he gets it right and is not pointing at the wrong way. "Commander! What's today's special pose?" one of the trooper asked.

"Huh?" the commander said with forgetfulness in his tone. "… I haven't decided yet." As he sheepishly rubs the back of his neck, out of embarrassment. "All right, rookie!" he immediately snaps at the disguised mime, causing her to tense out of surprise. "I'll let you decide! Show me your best move!"

'Wait… ME?!' she thought as she is still surprise that the commander demanded her a good move to impress the president. Looking at her companion for a while before sighing and moves forward, with one drill move in her mind.

"Alright… how about this one." She said and spins her rifle in her right hand, three times. She does a backhand pass to her other hand and then tosses it into the air. The rifle spins three times in the air, as its rise and falls back on her waiting left hand. She then points the rifle down, spins it again and then does the Order Arms with her feet and left hand on Parade Rest.

"Woooooooow!" one of the troopers said in awe.

"That's awesome!" the other states with glee and excitement.

"All right! We'll go with that as today's special!" the commander stated and then looks at the other two troopers. "Practice it!"

"Yes sir!" the troopers' salutes and left the locker room to practice the move Riley performed.

"Well then!" he then turns to the two. "Meet at the dock! Don't be late! Attention! Dismissed!" and then he left.

"Well that's something." The mime stated flatly, she then looks at Cloud who briefly removed his helmet. "The helmet suck, does it?"

"Yeah. By the way, that last move…" he points out. "It looks like you've done that before."

"I used to practice with guns when I was in Banora." She half-lies to him and twirls her rifle. "I learned these moves from Mira's older brother, who tends to spin and toss them around." And certainly that is no lie, she did ask Mira's older brother to help her with the C.A.T. when she was in third year.

"Is he a trooper?"

"Nope, a village protector. He makes sure that our old home is well protected from monsters." She then stops twirling the rifle and looks down. "… But… I guess he did not expect Shinra to be monster itself."

There is silence as she takes a brief look at the blonde before looking away. She can tell that he is starting to feel sorry for her, which she mentally congratulate her acting skills on making her story believable. A moment later, after feeling the silence long enough, Riley looks back at the blonde and begins teaching him the move she did.

**:::^*^:::**

As he practices the drill, the two heads out and explore the city.

The city looks like a metal version of the Rice Terraces back in her world, only it got buildings and houses instead of a rice field. Along with the fact that there is a huge cannon built in the middle of it. For the mime, she finds the cannon to be a waste of money and totally illogical. 'This cannon can only fire in one direction! Most enemies are not dumb enough to stay within firing range!' she thought, as she imagines enemies attacking the city by the side instead of head on. Despite the fact that she is not an expert on strategy, she is definitely not stupid to charge head on with the cannon at the front.

Shaking her head as her mind thinks of some mechanics, involving rotating the huge cannon, she continues exploring. As they walk to the docks, she spots the said item seller outside of the shop. Thinking that they have to get some items for their first and incoming Jenova fight, she talks to the man.

Once she bought enough potions, antidotes and other status-effect cures, she and Cloud continues making their way to the docks as he practices. But at some point, Riley would go into a shop or a building, looting items that are left behind. As she does that, she also removes the ammo from the magazine. 'If Rufus is a sucker for detail in this drill performance, it's better to be safe than sorry.' She thought as she removes the last ammo and then returns the magazine to its rifle.

"Riley…" The blonde ends up trying to find her when he notices she is missing every time. And once he finds her he would scold her not to leave his side or sighs of exasperation.

"Oh come on! It's been long since me and Mira visited this place!" she protests as she pockets a figure of a trooper.

She continues with this habit, entering a building and taking items that were not wanted anymore. 'If they put a case on me for breaking and entering, I'll point right back that they don't lock their stuffs safely.' She thought, as she enters another building... and then she stops going further.

Cloud, who is just behind her, finds it a little strange and stops behind her. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Turks." She stated and points at the bar inside. Peeking in, he sees the Turks having some drinks before looking back at the mime.

"Come on, we should head to the docks" he said and quietly sneaks out. "The others are probably waiting for us."

Nodding at this, the mime decided that it is time for them to head for the docks. "By the way, you got the move down?" she asked, in response he executed the move almost perfectly similar and she couldn't help but to grin at that.

**:::^*^:::**

Arriving at the docks, there they saw two troopers practicing the drills with their commander whistling at them. The mime thinks about sneaking into the ship without performing the drill, but the commander notices them and snaps at them to get into position. The two looks at one another and then she shrugs at this, they head to their position in line.

Once they are in line. "All right, it's time! Ten… HUT!" the commander snaps at them, which they all stand stiff in line.

A trooper near the door announces the president's arrival. "President Rufus… has now arrived!" the doors open, the same a young blonde man and his burly head of the public safety arrives.

"This is it! Junon Military Reception! Do it right, do it with enthusiasm…!" the commander hisses at them as the mime imagines him mentally praying that the send-off is a success. "Ready…!" and then he blows his whistle.

Cloud, Riley and the two soldiers perform the send-off, it's not perfectly synchronized but the movements and drills are the same. The mime can help to be giddy as the performance once more reminds her of the basic rifle drill training. She also makes note that the drill is in need of improvements, since most of the moves are repeated.

'Also put more troopers in this group!' she thought as she remembers a certain drill which she and other C.A.T. members trade rifles, as the drill master marches thru the middle of it. 'That sequence is made of awesomeness! It will make the drill team even cooler!'

Also while performing, she takes notice of a red feline (in disguise) observing them just behind the hinge of the cargo gate in the ship. His tail would flick as they successfully executed the drill like he would do in the game… which reminds her, how did he know she and Cloud are performing the send-off? Did he smell them or animal instinct, something?

Once they are now facing back, where Rufus and Heidegger are standing. "All right! Now finish it strong!" and then he whistles at them. "SPECIAL!"

They spin their rifle on their right hand, three times. Does a backhand pass to other hand and then tosses it into the air. As the rifle spins three times in the air, it falls back to their waiting left hand. They point their rifle down, spin it again and then for the final touch, they do the Order Arms with their stance on Parade Rest.

Once it is over, the commander faces back to where Rufus is and the mime sees… him looking amuse as the burly man laughs beside him. The president claps as he walks towards them.

"Well done, the last drill is new, is it?" he asked, now the mime looks at the president and is stunned…

'Holy… he said something that's not in the script!' she thought as the commander confirms it's a new move.

"Not bad. Keep up the good work for Shinra, Inc." he said.

Heidegger then approaches Cloud and gives him a gift, it's a sword. "Gya haa ha…! Here's a special bonus for you! A token of the President's kindness! Don't forget it!" as he takes the blade from him and then the burly man moves to the mime… and she unexpectedly got a pair of odd looking tonfas from him, stating that they are prototypes. As the two heads to the ship, she takes a good look on the tonfas and she nearly gasp out loud.

'What the heck?! These look like the Jungle Tonfas from the Power Ranger: Jungle Fury!' she thought, seeing the tonfas which looks similar to the said show. The tonfas are in black color with a silver curve at the end of the long side, the company logo on the hilt and the handles are wrapped in red leather. There are also materia slots good for four materias: one of the tonfas has link slots and the other one is a pair of solos. But if the tonfas can function like the ones from Jungle Fury, then she got two weapons instead of one.

"Once the world gets out that Sephiroth's here, Cloud and his friends will show up, too." The president said as Riley turns her attention back to the two.

"We'll crush them as soon as we find them!" the burly man said gleefully.

"We can't have them get in our way."

"Leave it up to me, sir! Gya haa haa!"

Rufus looks back at him, displeased and his good mood almost turn sour. "I thought I told you to stop that stupid laugh…" and once more, the burly man deflates as his superior heads inside the ship. When he is inside, Heidegger turns around and yells with frustration at the sky. The troopers, even the commanders, jump out of fright that he is going to hit them. Riley merely takes a step back on his reaction while Cloud stands completely still. Just as the burly man is going to attack them, the ship sounded off that it is ready for departure. Thanks to that, he turns back and boards the ship which the troopers and their commander sighs out in relief.

"All right! Dismissed!" the commander snaps at the troopers, who then respond back is a salute aside from the two 'fakes'.

"That was close." As the trooper relaxes.

"Heidegger's been really edgy lately. Because Hojo disappeared leaving a letter of resignation." The other trooper explains.

'The… oh yeah, that fruit-loop did leave the company in the game.' The mime remembers as she scratches her cheek.

"Heidegger's been forced to take care of that investigation, too."

"Hey! I thought you were dismissed!" the commander shouts at them. "We got something to do! Hurry up!" as the other troopers quickly scramble back into the Junon base… Both Cloud and Riley makes a beeline to the ship, when no one is around.

However, the mime somehow gets a feeling that something will nag at her once she enters.

**:::^*^:::**

Once the gate of the cargo hull is tightly closed, the ship then set sail for the Western Continent.

As she removes her gloves to give her hands some air and pockets it, Riley wanders around while Cloud already went off to find the others. The first thing the mime thought as the ship sails the seas, is to see if Yuffie's okay. She knows her notorious reputation in her motion sicken back at Earth, and she knows one way to calm it.

But before she even find the ninja in sailor-disguise, she is nearly barreled over by a trooper who seems in a rush. "Sorry!" the trooper quickly apologizes, but the mime recognizes the voice and makes a quick grab for the arm.

"Mira?" the disguised mime asked and the disguise songstress looks back at her. "Great! I found you! Now we- Wah!" she is cut off when her best friend suddenly drags her away. The songstress drags her best friend to the next floor of the ship, and the mime doesn't have a chance to explore it. The next thing the mime knows is that she is roughly pushed into a room and hears the door click close. Now she's starting to sense something is wrong here…

"Riley." The songstress calls out as she removes her helmet. "We need to talk."

Seeing that it is her best friend, she also gets rid of her helmet and rubs her eyes a bit. "What's wrong?" slightly grumbling on the fact that the visor is not that effective in the battle field.

"What's wrong?" the ravenette deadpan as she crosses her arms, seeing this means one thing… she did something wrong. "I'm hiding away from an Ex-SOLDIER Second!"

"Why?"

"Have you checked your pouch?"

"Eh? Did I lose something?"

Mira gives her a glare. "You did."

The mime stares at her as she wonders what she lost, and her best friend who is pissed is her first clue. "… It's bad, is it?"

"I kept telling you…"

"Oh flarg it, is it one of our Earth devices…?" Realizing how bad it is.

"Riley, before we confront him, tell me why I shouldn't turn you deaf with my keytar?"

Suddenly, the door opens and a new voice spoke. "Because you both need to explain this. Now." Both girls turn to see Kunsel, as he enters and shuts the door behind him. Riley's mind stops on her track on seeing Kunsel with her PS Vita in his hand. In the brunette's mind, she is spazzing a lot with the question how the heck he got her handheld game console.

"Gah! Where the heck you got that!" the mime shouts out in impulse.

"I got this near the doorway, in the house, back in Junon." The Ex-Second calmly points out. She gapes at him before remembering that the ninja girl tackled her before… now she mentally swearing at their younger member of the party, as her mind plans some pranks on her.

Somewhere in the cargo hold, a sailor sneezes quite loudly…

With the three, the mime turns to the songstress and says one thing. "I blame the ninja."

"What's Yuffie have to do with this?" her best friend asked.

"She tackled me to the floor yesterday, that's probably when my PS Vita fell out of my pouch."

"And you didn't notice?"

"Hey, I was tired from fighting a mutated fish that can swim in the air." She deadpan, she then looks at Ex-Second. "Did you tell the others about this?"

"No." he firmly stated as he pockets the device and the mime mental notes herself a plan to steal her handheld console back. "I haven't told the others about this, until I heard the truth from both of you."

'Wise to confront us now, stupid to not tell the others… Hallelujah.' Riley thought as she thanked the Goddess in her mind.

"I want to know about how you recorded my friend's life, and why you did not stop the troopers from killing him? Also, why is there a record about Cloud and the others, only older?" Kunsel demands with an edge in his voice, as he removes his helmet and is glaring at them with his glowing Mako eyes.

Both girls stared at him with slight fear and looks at one another. "… Well… now I know what Vlad meant about the scary eyes." Riley comments.

"Vlad?" Mira asked, even Kunsel is wondering who that is yet he remained focus on his task.

"Vlad Plamius? Master? From DP? Nickelodeon?" the mime points out and her best friend looks at her strangely before it clicks to her. As the songstress remembers that show, the mime stands up and faces the Ex-Second. "Okay, first, we'll explain about that but you can't tell the rest."

"And why?" he asked, his arms crossing.

"Because… well, we're in a Shinra ship." He looks at her for a moment but he understands the fact that they are in enemy territory. "With the president here, there is more security than any normal cargo ships and there are probably bugs around. But we promise to tell you the rest once we land in Costa del Sol."

"No, tell me right now, you two might bolt off when we land."

"And let unwanted eavesdroppers hear this conversation?" as she crosses her arms and looks at him skeptically. 'Is he not aware that we're in enemy territory?' She thought, as her brow rises a bit. She knows Kunsel is a military man, heck he's been labeled as a Turk in SOLDIER's clothing, but sometimes his approach on situations are not that subtle. 'Probably because he saw the video of Zack's death… Cripes, that's explains his approach.' The mime thought, when she suddenly wince when the Ex-SOLDIER grabs her arm, thinking that she's using this distraction to get away from him.

"Just tell me why you know about these?" Kunsel demands as he keeps a firm grip on the mime. "Why do you have a record of my friend's life? The video of the group? And why you did not save him?!"

Unfortunately, being enhanced and fully buff up does not bode well to the normal ones… or as normal as she can be, in Riley's case. The mime winces when the grip tightens on her arms and feels like her blood have stop moving its flow. "Kunsel, please, we're in a bad situation." She tries to calm him down as she tries to ease the pressure by prying his hands, but she couldn't get it loose.

"Tell me!"

And that is enough for Mira to interfere and grabs his arm that is holding on her best friend. "Okay, this is so not you!" the songstress snapped at him, as she fully knows his profile… when she just remembers the last one: he is more loyal to his friend than his career. 'Oh flarg it.' She thought, as she remembers that he did text to Zack before his actual death.

"You both know something and you're hiding it from me and Aerith!" he raises his volume and grabs the songstress, who yelps at the tight grip on her arm. "Why did you not save Zack?"

"COOL DOWN!" The mime yelled and is about to smack the Ex-Second's forehead with her free hand. However, when her hand contacts with Kunsel's forehead… pain erupts and the mime ends up gripping the head instead. He screams in pain as Riley grits her teeth to endure it, as they feel something odd.

For Kunsel, he felt something rip inside him.

And Riley felt something is worming inside her.

The pain only ends when Mira quickly yanks the two apart by pulling on one of the straps on their uniform/disguise. Once apart, the Ex-SOLDIER fell flat on his face and knock out, while the brunette fell on her rear still in pain.

"What the heck was that?" the songstress asked with a bit of panic in her tone, as she flips him on his back and checks if he have any fever or a pulse.

"Ow…" the mime winces, as she rubs her head and let her best friend check on her. "I feel like something got stuff in my head."

"Riley, you attempted to smack Kunsel on the head. He should be the one to feel stuff in the head."

"Then explained why I have a friggin' headache?" her best friend groan and so did Kunsel as he slowly comes to. Both girls look at one another and wincing a bit on the situation.

They are in so much trouble.

"Ugh, what happened?" Kunsel asked, as he holds his head and sits up. "Where are we?" he asked and then looks at the two girls… with a confuse look. "And why are you in Shinra Infantry uniform?"

That question puzzles them a bit but Mira decides to check if he's okay. "Kunsel, are you okay?"

"Ugh… not really, this migraine is killing me." He stated, as he rubs his temples and looks around a bit… when he suddenly gasped in surprise and stands up. "Are we in a Shinra cargo ship?"

Both girls look at one another, both confuse and on high alert before looking back at the man. "Yeah, we're in a ship, don't you remember?" the songstress points out with a brow raised.

"Why? Are we caught?" he asked frantically and is immediately on his feet, despite the fact that his head is still throbbing. Once more, the two looks at one another before they calm the slightly panic SOLDIER, who noitces what he's wearing. "Why am I wearing one too?!"

"Whoa, cool down." The mime stated coolly, as she places her hands on his shoulder to ease him up. At the same time, she carefully slips her hand into his pocket. "Kunsel, do you remember anything before this?"

"I… I only remember arriving in Junon with Yuffie and Aerith." He states as he looks around the area, still a bit confused and on guard in case of an unwanted eavesdropper. When they ask for anything else, he replied that he couldn't remember anything aside from arriving in Junon with his party and then waking up in a Shinra cargo ship. He asked if something happened and immediately Riley made up a story of him being hit by some boxes on the head. He asked about what the contents of the boxes have to knock him out, they told him it was equipment and some of it is parts of heavy machinery of sorts. Thankfully, he accepted the reason as SOLDIERs are enhanced, does not mean they don't feel pain. Then he asked the two why they didn't send him to the infirmary, and they point out that they actually stowed away in the ship which explains why they are in Shinra uniforms.

Once they told him what happened earlier, omitting the part on he found out who they are, Mira takes out a potion and gives it to him. Once he feels better, he once more asked what he was doing before the heavy blow on the head.

"You were pretending to be patrolling the hull and avoiding higher ups." The ravenette lied and she is able to breathe easy when he accepted her reason. He then dons the infantry helmet and left the girls to continue pretending he's on patrol, once he is a good distance away… "Okay, I'm going to file that as the-weird-scale-just-burst-over." She immediately stated as she quickly close the door, and looks back at her best friend who just takes out her potion and takes a swig of it. "… You got your PS Vita back?"

"Yep." As the mime waves out her handheld console and throw the empty potion bottle away. "Oh my gosh… I finally got this back."

"Which reminds me… you have clips of Crisis Core in your PS Vita?!" the songstress couldn't help but to yell at the mime, as the brunette mentally utters an 'oops' in her mind and tries to remember about the Crisis Core clips.

"… Yikes… I knew I had a funky feeling that I forgot something." Riley mutters to herself as she rubs the back of her head. She then turns her gadget on and proceeds with deleting the videos of the FFVII universe. "I'm going to miss these clips." She mourns for the videos as she deletes all of them.

Mira sighs and kneels "Come on, better safe than, happen earlier."

"True." She slumps a bit as she waits the deleting progress to finish.

"Don't be too down, we got something better than those videos anyway."

"Like what?"

"Like we got an adventure we don't expect to exist and friendship to the people we never thought to actually meet in real life."

The mime looks at her for a moment and then smiles. After the files and clips are completely deleted, both girls put their helmets back on and peek outside as Riley puts on her gloves. Seeing it clear, they quickly dart away from the room and splits to pretend that they are patrolling the ship, along with looking for Kunsel to see if he's actually okay.

And though out the day, nothing weird happens as they continue with their charades.

**:::^*^:::**

Both girls find out that there's a difference between the travelling time in the game and in actual time. It turns out that it takes about four to five days to reach the other continent by ship. A week is the maximum if there is a storm. The Earth girls are clueless on how long is a ship ride compared to a plane, but all they can say is that planes are faster.

Shinra should really reconsider about their transportations instead of looking for the Promised Land.

The ship as it turns out to be quite bigger than the one they saw in the game. It has five cargo holds, each is separated with metal walls and a door is the only way to enter each. The crew quarters are situated just below the private yet extravagant rooms of the president and highly ranked executives. Also the bridge is situated above it, the Mess Area and the armory is placed below the quarters with the latter placed near the cargo hold's entrance.

Both girls had to help the others with hiding their identities, as in making sure they don't get in trouble. Also, since most of the crew members of the ship are males, the female members can't make any noise or speak out because they sound too girlish. But Riley can speak out since she can mimic voices, which surprises the party aside from Cloud and Mira. She can throw off a clueless sailor and snap at a trooper back to their duty with her manliest snap.

At some point of time, both Riley and Yuffie head to the infirmary to steal some bandages. It turns out that the bandages they got are the ones that can be stretched, and they have to replace it to make their chest flat.

Speaking of the infirmary, they even stole some tranquillizers for Yuffie's motion sickness. Due to the fact that her motion sickness can blow their cover since sailors don't get seasick. At one point, she drank too much of it causes her to black-out in the cargo hold. Because of that, Mira appoints herself to give the ninja girl a few sessions on how to ease her motion-sickness without the use of the said drug. However, because the mime is still holding a bit of a grudge on her, she made a mash potato joke and made the young ninja even greener. Because of that joke, Yuffie turns back to her dependency on tranquillizers, much to Mira's displeasure and annoyance that she has to restart the sessions again. When they are seen by other sailors or troopers, they would pass Yuffie's sickness as a bad case of cafeteria food. And then, to their amusement, either they go green or fish for their meals instead of eating the junk from the cafeteria.

The group mostly avoids getting guard duties on the president's quarters, and they made some excuses when they get the command. Sometimes they thanked Riley for her miming skills, along with the red scarf and a captain-rank badge she stole along during the parade.

Both Earth girls are also observing the Ex-SOLDIER Second Class. As they watch him go on his way, they are more worried on the fact that he is just pretending and is waiting for them to slip once more. They remain on guard whenever he's around and subtly ask the party members if there is something off on the two SOLDIERs… Well, they are on high alert but their mission is also their top priority. But as the days passed and Kunsel still remained clueless on their identity, the girls are able to relax a little and point their priority back to the incoming battle in the ship.

But it didn't take long for Riley to find out what exactly happened a few days ago.

**:::^*^:::**

Bending down… picks up an odd-looking item which looks sleek and dark.

But she recognizes it.

It is one of her gadgets.

That night, she figures how to open her PS Vita which weird her out.

How come she is that clueless on her own gadget?

Once she turns her PS Vita on, she feels something off and spots the reason why...

These are not her hands, they are a bit bigger and have a bit of dirt in the nails and the arms are muscular. When she looks down, her chest is flat… well, she knows she does not have much of a bust size but it is ridiculously flat. Her surrounding is familiar before it clicks to her.

This is the house they stayed in after battling the flying, mutated fish.

Reading the information about FFVII and watching the clips, she felt shock, confusion, anger and somewhat curiosity… but what she mostly feels right now is calm fury.

"What is this?" Now that is definitely not her voice, but oddly sounds familiar. "Why do they know Zack's death…?"

She gets her answer when she shuts the device and saw… Kunsel's face in its reflection.

**:::^*^:::**

That night, Riley is flipping over her cot and snaps awake in sweats. 'Oh this is shit!' she thought and immediately sits up. Looking around their room for a bit, Tifa and Aerith are sleeping soundly in the bunk bed on one side. While Yuffie snored at the top of the other bunk bed, as her best friend slept below and she takes the position in the middle by putting a sleeping bag and extra comforters on the floor between the bunks.

The party has no problems with the room arrangements, it turns out that the crew picks the room of their likings. The party picks the two rooms at the very end of the deck, and in those rooms is a pair of bunk beds and a restroom each. While the males and Red take the other room, the female members of the party had a short debate on who gets the beds in the room but is soon resolved.

Still shaken, the mime quietly shake her best friend awake and is rewarded with a groan and a slightly smack on the head from the songstress. "Ow." She winces.

"Sleep…" the songstress mumbles and turns away from the mime, who looks annoyed at her best friend.

But the mime is determined to have their pep talk, so she covers her best friend's mouth and yanks her off the bunk. With the yelp muffled, all Mira can do is to cling on her blanket as she landed on the mime's cot on her rear. Once she sees who yanks her out of sleep, she gives her a glare as the mime dismisses it. "Look, I have a problem and I can't talk this in broad daylight!" the brunette hissed as she looks up to see the others are still sleeping.

"Fine." As the songstress gets rid if the blanket on her and tosses it back on the bed. Both girls grab their hoodie, puts on their boots and takes a flashlight from the quarter's emergency box. Making sure the hood covers their faces, they carefully open the door and scan the area for any guards on the night shift. Seeing the hallway is cleared, they briskly and quietly make their way to the cargo area.

The cargo area has only one guard and he's right at the entrance of the engine. To the girls' luck, he seems to be slacking off his job as his head nods up and down. Quietly they passed by him and heads for the third or fourth hold of the cargo. However, on the entering the area, theirs is not much light which made Riley back track for a moment. She makes a quick swipe on a lamp, just near the sleeping guard and briskly heads back to their 'private meeting' room.

"Riley, what's going on." As the mime sets up the lamp and she looks at her watch. "And at 2:53 in the morning!"

As the mime sits on one of the crates, she released a sigh and looks at her best friend. "Oh flarg it… I think I know what happened to Kunsel a few days ago." Her best friend looks at her with a brow raised, but shifts to a worried look when she sees her tired and serious on the topic. She asked about it and her best friend looks at her with dread. "I think I stole his memories from the time he found my PS Vita till our confrontation."

Mira stares at her for a moment before she shakes her head a bit. "… Riley, I think you just have a nightmare, and probably the fact that you're related to Jenova…" she said as she tries to ease the tension in the room that is building.

"Didn't you read the wiki about Jenova back in Earth?" she snapped at her, which made the ravenette step back. "She can absorb memories, which mean I can actually steal someone's memories! I have one of the alien's freaking skills! I can STEAL memories!" Riley stated with dread and her best friend just stared at her with shock.

While the mime has her freak-out session, her best friend took some time to get the facts in her head… the sudden change of Kunsel's behavior, a selective amnesia and a splitting headache they both got. 'Holy skrits, does Jenova want her back so badly?' she thought as the mime says things so fast that she can only get the words: 'I like weirdness', 'This sucks' and 'I'm going to have tentacles!'. The songstress immediately snaps her out by slapping her face twice.

"Ow!" the mime yelps as she holds her face, before looking back at her best friend. "You know, slapping me once can snap me back… Ow…"

"Well the first slap is to wake you up from your panic attack and the second is to remind you that you're different from her." Mira stated and place her hands on her hips. "I mean, you declared to me, yourself and to Zack's grave that you'll find a way to save Sephiroth."

Riley stares at her for a moment, like a deer caught in the headlights, before she lightly smack her face. "Flarg it! I nearly forgot!" she swore as she takes a big breath and exhales it. "Thanks. I nearly forgot about it, thank to my new acquired memory stealing power."

"It's okay. Besides your reaction is a good thing."

"And why?"

"When Genesis and Angeal found out about their 'experimental' pasts, they couldn't accept that they are different and… well hideous. You, on the other hand, accepted your 'weirdness' and never let it over your head. Also you did think of using this connection as a way to save Sephiroth." Her best friend just stares at her. She didn't move or react on being chastised by the ravenette. "What I'm saying is Riley… even though you're different or a freak, you're still you. Remember the song from Kerrie Roberts?"

The mime thought for a moment and smiles at her. "So… what if I'm an outcast." She sings the line.

The songstress smiles at her and also playfully, sings the same line. "So… what if I'm an outcast."

And then both girls just giggle before bursting out laughing. Once they laugh their troubles away for now. "Well, I got myself something odd again, but I'm putting this one in lock down. I don't know how memory stealing can be effective in this situation, when we already know what's going to happen. Looks like I'm going to keep those military gloves." As she really does not want any more accidental memory theft. What happen to Kunsel were a sudden necessary need and one experience enough for her to know about her unwanted developing abilities.

After that, they sneakily placed back the lamp near the guard before heading back to their quarter. As they carefully head back, Riley remembers something from their home world.

"You know, with our current situation, we couldn't help but to sound and feel Mary Sue-ish." The mime states with a small smile.

"Ugh, Riley, don't even go there."

"Aw, but with all these stuffs we have, it's very possible that you might get your dream guy!" which she earns a deadpan stare from her best friend.

"Well, what about you? You have a crush on Sephiroth."

"Yeah, well, it's a turn off." The brunette snorts and looks back at her best friend who is looking back at her. "You know it's weird to have a crush on someone you're blood related to… in Sephiroth's case, we're probably cell or DNA-related… or something." She shrugs.

"… Whoa and gross… Incest to the max." and that made the mime flinch before she grabs her best friend in a headlock. Once they are done with their short tomfoolery, they quietly arrive and enter their room.

And with that, the mime is able to get some rest.

Little did they know… more gears are added into the change.

**:::^*^:::**

Glaring at this sudden effect…

She continues to defy…

She continues to turn away from all…

But she will eventually see the truth…

For now, her plans remain the same…

"_The time is now, other me."_

"_Come on, dear, it's time to meet Mama again."_

**:::^*^:::**

The boat is about to reach the dock of Costa del Sol and both girls know that Jenova's left over is going to strike soon. As Cloud pretends to scout, he is actually looking for the others and making sure they are not caught. He even stuffed his blade in his satchel as an infantryman carrying a SOLDIER issued sword is a stand out. So far both Mira and Aerith are also pretending to guard the cargo area and the ninja girl… is not that hyper than she used to be.

"Urrrgh… This is why…I hate ships. Hey, do you have any tranquillizers?" Yuffie asked, as she's a little greener than yesterday and leans on the boxes for support.

"Nope." He replied back and this earns him a groan from the ninja girl.

"Get away from me then." She whines as the songstress overheard them and walks toward the sick girl.

"Okay, Yuffie, let's go up." Mira states, as she gently grabs one of the sick girl's arms. Their younger member of the party protested and the songstress continues to coax her to go up the hull. As she tries to get Yuffie up the hull, Cloud talks to Aerith who also saw Yuffie is having motion-sickness again. The songstress secretly eavesdrops on their familiar conversation about the airship, and the promise Cloud made to bring her to an airship once the whole fiasco is over. "Come on." She once again coax the young girl, but she somewhat glued herself on the very spot. Plus she's also blocking the way to the All Materia, just right there at the corner. 'I wonder if pointing out about that materia can get her to move?' she thought.

"Need help?" the songstress turns around and sees the disguise Ex-SOLDIER looking at the two. Aerith returns on pretending of patrolling the cargo, although both the songstress and the Ex-SOLDIER caught a slight skip as she walks.

"Yeah, I know this one method of getting over motion sickness but Yuffie refuses to go up." She explains to him.

"I'm not moving from this spot!" Yuffie yelled at them as the two looks at her ill form.

"Can't you give her a tranquillizer?" he asked.

"The last time we gave her that, she had too much of it and black out." The songstress pointed out.

"That bad, huh."

"I can still hear you! And I'm not moving!" the ninja girl screeches at them.

"This might take a long time… why don't you look for the others." The songstress suggested to the blonde. "Last time I saw them is that they are heading up the hull."

"Okay, are you sure you can handle this?" he asked.

"If I can handle Riley, I can work with her." She joked a bit, before looking back at the sick ninja girl. "You know, enclosed space is going to make things worse."

"Don't remind me!" as the songstress shakes her head and the blonde walks away from them.

Taking the songstress suggestion, Cloud went up to the hull and there he spots two infantrymen watching over the sea on the mast's platform. He climbs up the ladder and the two looks at him as he gets himself up.

"Sir! Everything quiet, sir!" the two infantrymen salutes and he salutes back.

"Tifa? Riley?" he asked in a low tone.

"Hey Cloud." Riley greeted him back with a grin, as the barmaid waves him back. "I have to say that uniform actually fits you, just without the helmet… better yet, they have to redesign it." She miffs as she slightly lifts the front of the helmet and rubs her eyes. "This thing is seriously going to mess up my eyes and get glasses before I hit my forties."

"But, you know what? I really hate this uniform." Tifa states with honesty and hate lacing each other, which cause Riley to look at her weirdly.

'Wow, honesty and hate… I never thought they would go together.' The mime thought as she places the helmet back.

"Uniforms, soldiers, war, I really hate 'em all. They take away all the things and people you love… I wish they'd all disappear. Right?" she asked.

Before the blonde could answer, the brunette immediately beats him to it. "War, I would agree with you." Riley stated out. "But seriously, all of them? Why not knock down the idiots who abuse the power instead?"

"What do you mean? Are you saying that we should let those murderer and thieves go?" the bar maid asked incredulously at the mime, yet the brunette could sense a hint of anger in it.

"What I'm saying is, kick out those who abuses the power, put them in jail along with those who believe in their ideals and change practically all the wrong in the company." Then the mime pauses a bit and adds. "Actually, the company has to fall out and build a newer and better organization with sense."

"Well… that sounds idealistic but most who opposes Shinra gets stomp immediately." Cloud stated.

'Pffft, that's not going to a problem. Earth's politics and economy versus Shinra's? Earth wins hands down except for the fact that we lived in a crowded world.' the mime thought.

"I have to agree with Cloud, Shinra gets away with everything. They have to disappear." She stated firmly but then she added. "But I agree with the company has to fall out though."

'Flarg it, is everyone here that apathetic?' The mime thought and sighs, before thinking about how the economy of this world runs. 'Then again, I don't think the workers on that company blamed Cloud and the others for the fall of Shinra in Advent Children. If only Shinra has some rival companies to compete with… probably they'll be more focused on being the number one than looking for the Promised Land. Wait, why the heck am I thinking about economy?!' as a bewildered look is etched on her face. Right now, she is thankful for the helmet.

"Anyway, have you seen Red, Kunsel and Barret?" the disguise blonde asked as the mime snaps herself back on the situation.

"I think that's Red and Kunsel are over there…" Tifa stated as she points at the two infantrymen, and one of them is standing and walking awkwardly.

"I have to say, Red is the most wobbly infantryman I have ever seen." The mime noted as the poor, disguised feline walk on two feet on one corner to another. He gets some help from Kunsel, whom he crosses with. "Good thing most of the employees are too focused on promotions, sea sick on the joke I made or they're a bunch of morons."

Tifa can't help but to giggle at her comment as Cloud smirks at that. Once they bid him good luck and salutes, the blonde left to meet up with the other two and find their last member.

As they continue with their charade… "Riley." The said brunette turns to look at the bar maid. "You don't really agree with me about making Shinra disappear?"

"Tifa, let's just say, I'm not that heartless." Riley replied as she watches Cloud talk with the two before he goes off looking for Barret.

As the group continues with their charade, both Earth girls wait for the alarm to go off. And as they wait, they make a recheck on their materias and equipment… While the party has their new Mythril Armlets, the girls remain with their current ones. But Riley gave her Mythril Armlet to Mira, allowing the songstress to equip the Restore and All materia. Also, each of them equipped their summon materias on their bangles, except for the Bahamut FURY which the girls still consider an over-kill.

As Mira continues to calm the ninja girl and Riley watches the sea on the platform…

"Emergency alert! Reports of a stowaway found! Those not on detail, search the ship. Report when found! I repeat. Stowaway found on board! Those not on detail, search the ship. Report when found!" the alarm went off, snapping Yuffie out of her trance and is turning green again.

"And somebody is stupid enough to press the big, red button." The mime miffs and turns around, only to find Tifa has gone ahead to the middle of the hull. "Whelp… Gonna jet." She stated and quickly makes her way to the middle, as the rest of the group comes running to the middle of the hull.

"Everyone all right!?" Tifa asked, as Mira and Aeris drag Yuffie out of the cargo hold and right to where the party is.

"You all right!?" the muscular, gun-arm man comes charging in with an infantryman just behind him.

"Everyone's here." Aerith said with relief, and both girls did notice the change of lines.

"Hey, wait. You don't think that suspicious character is…" Kunsel stated.

"Sephiroth!?" Barret said quickly, causing the others to look at him.

"Really!?" the bar maid asked with shock in her tone.

"How the hell am I supposed to know!?" he replied.

"… Let's find out." Cloud said, as he takes out his weapon from the satchel.

"It's the most logical thing to do." Red stated as they party takes out their weapons. Even Yuffie, who seems to forget about being on the boat and is looking forward to kicking the silver general's ass.

'Okay… she supposed to complain and all.' Both girls thought as they remember that the ninja girl is way too sick to even join the fight. 'Looks like this might calm her nerves someday.'

"All right." The blonde stated, as his helmet is off along with the others who are also disguised as infantrymen, but Red has his boots and gloves off. He is going to need his claws for this fight, and Barret makes a quick check on his arm-gun. "Let's go!"

Originally, Cloud is supposed to choose two of the party members and change outfit, while the others continue with their charade. But now, the entire party rushes down the cargo hold with their disguises still on. It made the two wonder why Square made Cloud and the gang change back into their main outfit, while they can fight in their disguises? Is it the restraint of the cloth? To point out where is the protagonist? Or an early concept of the dressphere in FFX?

'Whatever it is, Square should've left the disguise on. It's more realistic that way!' the songstress thought as she carefully runs down the stairs with Aerith just behind her.

They then witness the corpses and dying people scattered in the cargo hold, all of them are slashed or cut in halves. With the smell of blood, the ninja girl couldn't help but to get sick again as the songstress immediately covers her nose. Both the flower girl and the bar maid gasps in shock at this sight, as both Cloud and Kunsel checks if any of them are alive.

'Dang, this looks like it came out of a horror movie.' Riley thought, she tries to calm their youngest party member as the two returns from their investigation. "How is it?" she asked.

"Everyone is dead." Cloud stated, as he push back some of his blonde bangs and sighs. "The only clue I got is they uttered that the one who killed them is not human before dying."

"Same here, but the guard who was guarding the engine room said the suspicious character went in there." Kunsel points out.

"Then let's head there." The blonde walks to the door leading to the engine room. The group takes out their weapons and both Mira and Yuffie notice that the mime has a new pair of tonfas.

"Where did you get that?" the songstress asked, as she feels that she have seen the tonfas before.

"From Heidegger after the farewell drill performance." She replies, as their leader pushes the door open and then quietly enters the room. As they follow him, he spots a someone standing by the engine in the room. Quietly, he approaches this person.

"Is it… Sephiroth?" he quietly asked, as he places a hand on the person's shoulder. Only to find it is not the one he is looking for, but a high ranking officer. The said officer has the signs of nightmare etched on his face, eyes bloody red but he has no slash marks. However, the man falls forward and Cloud quickly step back out of reflex and the shock of realizing that the man is dead. The body made a loud thud as it fell on the metal floor, making the rest of the group steps back in fright of this sight. "No… not Sephiroth." He stated with calm fury.

Riley does a double check back at the body, as she caught a glimpse of something black dissipating from the head. 'Creepy, odd but mostly creepy.' She thought, as she tightly grips her tonfas, ready to fight.

"… After a long sleep…" a calm, deep voice suddenly came out of nowhere and echoes across the room. However, Riley hears some disfigured voices in low volumes with it, along with that near-faint cry. "… The time… … time has… come…"

Then something transparent came out of the metal floor, it then turns tangible in front of the group. And it is no mistaking it… it is the fallen general, Sephiroth, himself.

While everyone is shocked or afraid of the general's reappearance, both Earth girls couldn't help comparing him with a cartoon character back in their world. Considering they both has pale-colored hairs, black outfits, the phasing and the fact that he's floating, she would've screamed ghost… especially since the edges of his body seem a bit misty.

'Wait, something's off here.' The mime thought, as the image of the general seems to wavers solid to transparent, before solidifying back. She then spots something dark in the middle of his body when he fades a bit and tries to focus more on the black spot. She can barely make out the shape, before he solidifies again. 'Darn it, he bounces back too well.' But she feels that there is something off about the silver general, as she ignores the voices in her mind.

"Sephiroth! You're alive!" the blonde shouts with anger as he reaches back of his blade.

The former general looks at Cloud, but it seems nothing clicks. As if he got an amnesia himself. "… Who are you?"

"You don't remember me?" he snaps as he readies himself to battle the general. "I'm Cloud!"

"Cloud?" He seems to be trying to remember but nothing came out.

"Sephiroth , what are you thinking? What are you doing?"

Then the general's eyes gain some focus and looks up. "… The time … is now… Mama…" he merely stated and the mime froze when his gaze lands on her.

"What are you saying? Be more-" but the blonde's demand is cut off when Sephiroth suddenly floats up in the air with arms spread out. The group gasped at this sight but Mira and Riley notices something else. As the general raise himself up in the air, something grey and pink fell out of his coat. The mime notices that Sephiroth's image is starting to fade, but no one seems to notice the slight change as they are too shocked at the fact that the general is floating. Looking at the songstress, she too notices the slight change like her but is a bit spooked about it. Then the general shot past the group, bowling them to the floor. Even the songstress ended up landing on Aerith as they were knocked down by a sudden force. But the mime remains standing as if she endured a strong wind that messed up her hair.

And on that point, the mime realizes that this Sephiroth is merely an illusion to disguise the arm. Which made her wonder if the Sephiroth she met last night is the real one, or an illusion from her alien counterpart. 'Note to self: Have a talk with Mira with this.' As she readies to fight against to monster.

"*&^%$#! How the heck he can do that?!" the black man shouts as he gets up.

"Or how about we get up and fight!" Riley shouts at them, as she kept her sights on the forming Jenova-BIRTH he left behind and still ignoring the voices from it. "And that is the most disgusting thing. Ever." Like the dead corpse of the alien, its grey with some purple and pink muscles exposed. It is about 8 feet in height but is still growing, her face still remains at human size but the mouth is similar to a bug. Purple tentacles wave around as the muscle-like wings expands, larger than its usual size in the game. 'And we'll encounter two more of these much later in this journey.' She thought as her nose wrinkles on the rotting smell.

Not wanting that thing to even hit the height of the ship's ceiling or even strike first, the mime takes action and strikes it at the monster's skirt-like bottom. The monster shrieks at the hit and lash out at the mime, who quickly drop down to the floor to avoid it. Quickly getting up, both Cloud and Kunsel charges and slashes at the monster, then jumps away to avoid the laser. Mira and Red cast Thundara and Fira at the slashed wounds, causing the thing to wail in pain. Yuffie regains some color and jumps high to attack above, as Tifa slams on it from the bottom. Barret goes a bit trigger happy as he shoots the bigger wing of the monster as Aerith remains behind them, ready to cast Cura when needed.

But the monster manages to strike back by shooting out Tail Laser at everyone. Cloud, Kunsel, Tifa, Riley and Red got hit and feels the burning pain of the attack. Yuffie manages to avoid the laser by jumping up to the bridge, then she strikes back. The songstress takes cover on the metal beam of the bridge, out of fear of getting burned. The AVALANCHE leader fell on his rear as he the laser nearly hits his foot and Aerith is out of the laser's range.

After that, Mira runs back into the fray and begins healing the other with Aerith… When an idea forms in her mind. "I have an idea, everyone back away now!" as she looks at her red materia on her bangle. "Barret, Yuffie, can you keep that away for a few second?" the songstress asked.

"Sure thing!" the AVALANCHE leader stated.

"Do I get a materia after this?" the ravenette just ignored her as she looks at her recovering best friend.

"Do you remember the Beta?" she asked, and the mime nodded. "Okay, can you cast that on it?" As she begins focusing on her magic for the summon.

"You got it, Meer." Riley stated, as she remembers and prepares to cast the enemy skill she got from the giant snake. She then feels the temperature of the room had dropped and she takes this cue to cast… "Beta!"

She glows red, like what the Zolom did back in the swamp, and then releases a burst of scorching heat at the thing. Because of the lack of skin, some of the expose muscles are roasted or its blood is boiling. The Jenova-BIRTH cry and shriek at the extreme heat and attempts to counter… only to face…

"Shiva!" the songstress calls, as a red beam shot out of her hand and flew up. It forms a portal and snow falls out of it, soon a light blue-skin nymph floats down and hovers in front of the monster. But the songstress notices something different about this summon… Shiva's hair is down, and has more blue and strange markings on her skin. Then the summon raises both of her hands and bends back as she gathers her ice spells. She then casts Diamond Dust at the monster, freezing it in place as the mass of muscles shrieks and quivers at the sudden temperature change. Then the summon fades back into the materia, and the only hint to it's summoner is a slight glint from the red orb.

Now the girls have another thing to discuss… like the way Shiva attack is different from the game. Will other summons be that different too?

Taking this chance, the party quickly charges at the monster, both Yuffie and Kunsel are successful to cut off the wing Barret is shooting at. Cloud strikes the thing from the back as Tifa unleash her limit break: Beat Rush, Somersault and Waterkick. The bar maid then backs away as the tentacles move to slap her away, but the movement is sluggish thanks to the ice. The songstress plays a fast-paced music and unleashes her first limit break, Sonic Presto, at the monster's head.

The battle is rather short as the monster is outnumbered by 9 attackers. And so, with the last shriek, Jenova-BIRTH slumps to the ground and begins shrinking with blood trail left behind in a splattered, circular fashion.

"What the heck was that?!" the ninja girl demands and shrieks, as Aerith and Mira distribute potions to the group.

When the body of the thing stops shrinking, the bar maid saw what is left behind. "Hey, I've seen that somewhere… before." As she tries to remember where she have seen it.

"Wait, isn't that the arm of that freaky monster lady back in Shinra? And is that an eye on the shoulder?" the mime points out, as she holster her tonfas and disgust on seeing it in real life. Then the voices stops... 'Is it over?' she thought, when she caught it twitching one of it's fingers.

"…Jenova." The blonde stated as he recognizes it. "You mean he's been walkin' around with that thing?"

"Okay… now that is gross." The songstress stated, as she earns a light elbow from her best friend. But, unlike in the game, the arm did not disappear and Riley did see the arm twitch once. Not wanting that thing to follow them or suddenly attack them while they're off guard, she quickly set the body part on fire.

"Why did you-" But the Ex-Second is cut off, when the arm suddenly bounces on its spot and waving around to get rid of the fire. The mime hears the disfigured, alien voice shrieking on why she continues to defy and they hurt them. But it is in vain and the body part falls completely still, slowly turning into ashes. The party stares at the arm-turned-dust and then at Riley, who shrugs then points out that it got an eye on it and it is very disturbing.

The mime rubs her temple, ignoring the shrieks at echoes in her mind and wonders where the Ifrit summon materia went. The songstress spots the said red materia stuck between the valves and pipes on the ship. Once the mime has collected the third summon…

"So it WAS Sephiroth." Cloud stated, with his arms crossed.

"He said something about it being time for something." Tifa points out, remembering what the general said before he left them with that nasty thing.

"… Time… is now?" As the blonde wonders what the former general meant.

Unfortunately, the AVALANCHE leader seems to have forgotten the story back in Kalm, and is confused with the situation. "I don't know WHAT the hell's goin' on! Cloud, why don't you explain to me what's happened so far?" he demands the blonde.

The Ex-SOLDIER looks at him for a moment, then decided to give Barret a recap of the situation. "…I'll try, but don't interrupt me while I'm explaining." He stated and the black man nodded in agreement. "Sephiroth went off searching for the Promised Land, so he could become the ruler of the planet… That was 5 years ago. Then Sephiroth came back and killed President Shinra. And then just now all of us saw Sephiroth. He got Jenova with him. …This much I do know. He told me he wants to go to the Promised Land with his mother, Jenova." He pauses and thinks if he misses any detail in his explanation. "…I guess that's about it."

"Dock workers… We will be docking in Costa del Sol in 5 minutes. Prepare for docking." The monotone intercom announces, as the party is still recovering. Being thankful that they are still in their disguise, they fix their uniform and quickly stash their equipment in their pouches and satchels. Except for Barret and Yuffie, they put back their helmet on. The girls is not that thrill on having it back on again though.

As they left to continue with their charade, the blonde stops for a moment. "Sephiroth…is alive…" Cloud mutters to himself, as he looks back at the battleground and to where he witnessed the general's return. "The Promised Land… Does it really exist?"

Then he exits the engine room and follows the others.

* * *

><p>Silver: Supposed to be, Kunsel joins in the 'Repair Cloud's Memory and save Sephiroth' wagon with the two girls. But I found it more… unfitting, so instead I have Riley 'shock' away Kunsel's memory about what he found out. There are already fics with the main character gains the assistance from one FFVII characters. Anyway, I'm going to revise a few chapters and give Mira a slight change… nothing major aside from giving her a bit of stamina boost, I mean she's a songstress for Pete's sake! (Re-reads her chapters) Yeah, give her a bit of boost, considering artist sings on stage or an hour or two. Also, Riley's memory-stealing ability is supposed to come much later in this story, but since I decided to have Kunsel out of the loop, this happens… Also, I put in some different summoning scenes, thanks to Crisis Core. Anyway, mentions of Danny Phantom, Outcast by Kerrie Roberts and Power Ranger: Jungle Fury(Iliketheirequipment.), and give them anf their owner the credit… (Looks at this chapter.) Please do tell if this chapter is a mess, I just kept jumping on so many wagons…<p> 


	23. Announcement

_**THIS IS NOT A CHAPTER!**_

**Hi, this is Silver... **(ducks from incoming bricks, pans and kitchen sinks) **I know! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please stop throwing things on me and put those down! ... Okay, is everyone calm? Right... Ahem, this is not a chapter but an announcement. GAH!** (Ducks behind a steel wall to avoid the bullets)** Put the guns down or I won't be able to say what the announcement is! Is it clear? ... Okay, I will continue with this story but I'll be revising all of the chapters due to:**

**1. Timeline mistakes... I missed out the final boss fight from Before Crisis, which happened in between Zack's death and Tifa's and Cloud's meeting. Derp me. And this might change some chapters.  
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**2. Typo errors... I read it and I notices a lot of it despite it is minor.**

**3. Mira's stats... it wasn't a good idea to give her a physical prowess similar to Lelouch vi Britannia, considering she is a songstress and they rehearse a lot for concerts or shows. So yeah, I'm going to up her stamina/endurance.  
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**That seems to be it. Once I changes some parts in some chapters, the story will resume. And I apologize on the sudden hiatus... I got addicted to some games in my computer and Ipad, new movies and the Flash from CW. I'm really sorry!  
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